abraxaslogs | [ closed ] avengers: civil dinner parties

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[ closed ] avengers: civil dinner parties

WHO: mcu cast
WHAT: sam was there for the civil war. he's not about to let poor communication screw them all over again. (aka, sam's hosting a dinner for the whole family, no matter how awkward or tense it might be)
WHERE: horizon
WHEN: mid February

[ sam has hosted his fair share of abraxas-wide events, and has been a part of a fair number of family dinners himself. it's been a few months since he last hosted anything for the summoned at large, but the sudden appearance of steve, bucky, and peter have him thinking about his recent initiative. the way they're all being cut off at the knees by the lack of contact. he's only just now started building those contacts, only recently put the effort into keeping them up, but he's not letting this fall through the cracks. not when he hears about wanda.

so he sets a day, tells everyone when to show up. there's no reason to set up, no reason to set the table or prep the food - the horizon means it's all ready for him. all done up and cleaned and ready when they arrive. there isn't any specific reason for the meeting other than getting everyone in a room together, other than setting up safe, neutral territory for everyone to meet and get that first conversation out of the way. he knows tony will want to see peter, he wants to see wanda (and he knows steve and bucky will to), tony and steve will need to talk, and stephen...well. he needs to know all of them, doesn't he? they're a team, and if they're going to get through this, it's going to be together.

so they each get messages (or at least, tony and stephen both do - with tony's attached to a BRING WANDA, MAKE SURE SHE CAN GET INTO THE HORIZON), the food gets set out, and they will all eat. whether they want to or not. and sam is prepared to step in, if he needs to. ]

FEEL FREE TO MAKE TOP LEVELS EITHER OPEN OR CLOSED (DEPENDING ON THE THREAD).

THE ENTIRE HORIZON DOMAIN IS OPEN, AND SAM'S GOING TO LET PEOPLE WANDA/EXPLORE IF THEY WANT TO, EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER DINNER.

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[her hesitation in coming to the horizon as invited is evident, but she is not about to air out those concerns to tony, much as things have slightly improved between them. she takes her time in going in, much after tony, until she embraces the idea that the deterrents are far less than the good she will find from seeing other familiar faces. besides, the longer she waits, the more her absence will be noticeable, and the last thing she wants is to make a big deal about it all.

(except it is kind of a big deal...?)

wanda is taken aback by how welcoming everything is. it's like a layer of film in the place, of warm oranges, like a cozy summer afternoon were the ultimate worry was whether there would be enough time in a day to laze about. she opens the front door and walks through, quiet, looking about curiously, wondering who she may run into next. there are pictures on the walls, family mementos, and she is starting to feel nervous—hands wrapping around each other, small steps inside as she peeks around corners.]

[ it wasn't that peter had intended to check in on everyone who came in. except that he can pick up when someone else arrives, a small habitual ping on the periphery of his awareness, a tingle along his spine that sits on the back of his neck that has him turning his head to the corner before she peeks around it.

a part of him keeps expecting tony — expecting, or wishing, or dreading, he isn't sure. grieved for, and missed and it still felt a little impossible.

instead, his eyes land on hers and he blinks, a beat waited before he offers her a small smile, a wave. ] Hi —

[ a few steps shuffled forward. he remembers her, however brief their exchanges had been. an ally in a fight to save half the universe, magic bright red and resilient in the smog of that battle-filled landscape. a somber face at the funeral. but, more importantly, ] — you're Wanda, right? I'm Peter Parker. [ he offers by way of introduction, by way of not assuming she knows who he is, or by way of not wanting to ask anyone else if they remembered him. its not a fair question for a mostly-stranger, anyway, but he can't keep the hope out of his posture, either. ]

[oh, this isn't a face she was expecting, her mind mostly focused on the idea of seeing others, first and foremost. did she even take note that peter parker was also here?]

... hi.

[wanda mirrors his greeting as this kid goes on and doesn't really give her much of a chance to try and piece by herself who he is among the myriad of faces of avengers-lined allies, as he goes and introduces himself.

still, the name is a bit... unfamiliar to her, even if the face is not. red and blue, nimble and young, soaring across the sky holding the infinity gauntlet.]

Yes, right, you're... the spider— [..something? mumblemumble. she makes up for it with abruptly offering her hand for a shake. way to go, catching her off-guard, peter!] I didn't know you were also here.

[which is, by all means, kind of expected, considering how divided they are.]

How are you?

[(in the end, peter looks and sounds like he's much, much younger than anyone she's come across, in the superhero realm, so she can give herself a chance to be less stoic and cold. helps her nerves, too, to practice having a normal conversation.)]

— spider-man, yeah, [ infilled in the spaces of peripheral recognition, suddenly sheepish, softened by a short huff of a laugh, a fidget of fingers along his ear. ] Yeah, that's me.

[ but there's a hand offered and he takes it. however small and inconsequential it is, there's relief somewhere in the set of his shoulders. he's been finding this bitter-sweet and much as it was orienting: the possible timelines filed away in some corner of his mind to blurt out at a later point but for now, this passing sort of recognition is enough.

he should really...stop thinking about it.

but its polite conversation within this a little realm of absurdity and maybe its sam's meticulously crafted place (cool, warm, kind) that helps this feel the normal sort of awkward. a little dinner amongst...coworkers? friends? its difficult to quantify just as much as it is difficult not to feel a little out of place, a kid displaced amongst heroes. ] I'm okay! [ :') ] And well, I got here - I guess about a week ago? Have you been here long? I know everyone's kind of spread out a little. In the time sense, I mean. [ wait no, he meant: ] Or location? Or both.

[wanda's never realized how much he fidgets. he was nothing but certain moves while in his suit, and in stark's funeral he was (as it turns out) incredibly subdued. it does little to ease the perception that he is, in fact, so much younger.

it does not mean, though, that wanda will treat him without the respect that a young man capable of holding his own against aliens deserves. goodness knows that wanda had once been young and ready to fight, even without her powers, and pietro harbored too much energy to hold still for a minute.

the handshake is firm and short, wanda noting how out-of-place it was for her. thankfully, though she does not display the same nervous movements, her own more static nerves are relieved as the conversation flows (somewhat) easier than expected.

despite all the questions, anyway.]

I've been here a week, too. Give or take. Perhaps we arrived in a similarly-timed summoning. [so is it at the same time in every faction...? she can't help but smile as he blusters his way along.] I arrived in Solvunn, and I would also guess that we have all been picked from different times.

[look at tony stark, alive and well..... she looks over his shoulder, then back at him.]

Has anyone else arrived?

[ a fight is constant motion and the suit is much a physical as it is a proverbial mask to wear, something that had once removed him from the everyday. it was falling into instinct, easy as breathing. swing, fall, jump.

but here, he's just that one kid, on the cusp of adulthood and bearing too many burdens, much as anyone else in sam's family home. playing catch up with the rest of them.

he feels out of place, here. he worries, too. worries that maybe he won't be able to convince the others he's able to help, or that he can be relied upon. ] Okay, yeah - maybe! [ guess it would make sense for the summoning to happen in waves. he takes a breath, arms crossed, hands tucked under before turning to look behind him, following her glance...as if he wasn't just facing that way before she'd come in anyway. ] Definitely picked up from different times, though! [ it's said with with a poorly hidden frown. yikes. ] It's like time relativity is maxed out.

[ tony was from his past. but alive. the idea felt fragile, in a way. ] Aaand — well, Sam's here - obviously. And I think um - the metal arm guy - Mister Barnes! And Doct — Stephen? [ is it weird? still weird? kinda maybe but it also felt kind of nice. dr strange didn't tell him to stop, and that was a weird sort of validation in and of itself. ] But Mister Rogers and — and Tony aren't here yet. [ he tries to ignore the catch in his throat at that last one. ]

[time relativity.

this feels like a science term wanda is not all too familiar with, but—to be fair—she hasn't put too much thought to the magic aspect of things, either, or how to put them into words outside of a feeling.

and, well, despite peter's constant movement, at least he answers all her questions, says what is expected to be said, and so following along with his thoughts is not too difficult. she learns, then, that pretty much everyone is here, except for the two elephants in the room: a man who is dead, and a man whose whereabouts are unknown.

it would be nice to see sam and bucky (mister barnes, he's so polite), even with doctor stephen (that sounds like familiarity) strange around, but it's impossible to ignore the catch in his throat when he says tony's name. wanda thinks her heart would burst too, should she see steve again, after thinking she never would, anymore. she strings it together—how important tony is to peter, like perhaps there was a relationship there that budded to something akin to home and family.

she knows that's what it's like for her, with steve.

so, wanda hums thoughtfully, then points out at the door.]

...would you like to wait out for them out in the porch with me?

[she knows tony is on his way. she doesn't know about steve. but— but. maybe it'll be less scary, less nerve wracking, if she were to do the active-waiting with someone else. besides, regardless of her own feelings, perhaps peter needs the quiet space a bit more than herself.]

[ defining the undefinable may start being a consistent task in a place like this. or maybe things don't always need to be named or explained, but there's a knee jerk sort of impulse to try and puzzle it out anyway.

maybe defining things makes them more cerebral and less emotional and yet that doesn't hold too true either. tony is still a dead man come alive, and steve is still a legendary man missing from the time peter knows.

grief had always been a messy thing, and peter had only just been able to consider tony in the context of past tense and the possibility of this meeting - in the flesh? in the cosmic whole? in the undefinable reality of the horizon? - set peter on edge, pulse racing. god, tony doesn't so many things. how much was he told by sam? by stephen?

possibilities on possibilities and when wanda offers the invitation, he does the habitual thing and leaps right for it, a sheepish little nod. ] Yeah - Yeah, I'd like that!

[ and he's heading for the door at a mostly reasonable pace, door held open before stepping further out onto the front porch. he's quiet, ] It's weird, isn't it? I mean, the whole timeline thing. All of us remembering up to different points? [ maybe it doesn't matter. why would it? knowing futures won't change them out there. ]

Have you - have you talked to either of them yet? [ a passive nod out in front of them, into the empty front yard. the soon-to-arrive guests (he hopes!) ]

[steel that anxiety into something, peter parker, is what she thinks; wanda can think of a hundred things she would have told pietro by now, about needing to keep still, about going for a quick run and coming back, of sitting down and busying himself with snacks. but although it's familiar (and a little painful, the tight squeeze of her heart as she remembers him), she does not offer any of these bits of advice to peter.

just sits with him in the silence after they've found their way to the porch, onto the bench against the window, for a moment, until the boy can't keep the words inside any longer.]

I imagine it is how the multiverse would work. Different branches in time and space, chaotic. It is only curious that the Summoning didn't bring us more spread out than what we are.

[her only point of reference is tony's death, and while she hasn't spoken to the others yet, it feels like a correct assumption.

with her hands on her lap, tightening fingers and cracking knuckles to play along with her anxieties, wanda follows peter's nodding out into the front yard before setting her eyes down to the floor. she almost doesn't want to see it, when tony and steve arrive.]

Tony Stark and I are both in Solvunn. I have spoken with him a few times already, but— not with Steve.

[the way she says tony's whole name, like there's something... careful about the way she speaks regarding him.]

... [wanda sighs, a gasp escaping her.] It's a little scary. To see someone I miss so much. [she is honest because peter makes her feel like she can be, even if superficially, and because they can likely relate. she turns to look at him.] Will you be okay?

Edited 2022-02-20 21:34 (UTC)

[ perhaps once he finds his footing, it won't be so listless, this anxiety, so high up to the edge that it threatens to spill over from any provocation.

he'd feel better with something to do. he'd feel better if there was something to do other than hope that Lord of the Rings was enough background information for what to expect from this world.

what she says is an interesting point, as he perches on the steps beside her and threads his fingers together. it — well, its the elephant in the room, isn't it? who is from when? ] Not more spread out? [ he echoes, curious. but it doesn't feel appropriate to ask. ] Yeah, yeah that's a little strange, I guess. [ so far, it remains apparent enough that he's the furthest down the timeline, if only by virtue of remembrance. he might not know how the spell would work down to the very detail, but...as far as assumptions go, he holds on to that one. he's recognized by all,

it's easy to switch focus when it's about tony, though, and peter tries not to let him get too ahead of himself. he wants to ask how tony seems. is he okay? is he eating? he isn't sure what to ask.

instead, she posits the hard question, and with the way she talks about steve, peter somehow doesn't feel all that alone in his anxieties as they wait. he nods, voice low. ] Yeah. Yeah, it is. [ terrifying, really, heart tight in his chest. he misses a lot, everyday now. ] We'll be okay.

[ is that presumptive to say? maybe. he hopes he isn't overstepping. ] It's the second chance. To see them, I mean. [ tony for him, steve for her. ] That's the scariest part, I think. [ but if she's honest, he can stand to be, too. it came too easily to him, anyway. ] Most people don't get a chance like this. [ and what if its lost as quickly as its gained? ]

[it might be presumptive to say were peter anyone else, but wanda sees him as a kid trying his hardest to keep himself from falling apart at the prospect of meeting again someone he cares for so much. wanda was never that composed, as far as grief is concerned, to the point that she had to escape into a fictional reality to deal with it. (—or to ignore it entirely?)

given the power and opportunity to do so, she ended up recreating the people she missed the most. second chances for this aren't meant to be possible; the dead are dead, but hopefully it will bring them both some amount of comfort to get to be with those they've missed.

moved somewhat by the way peter's voice sounds so small and uncertain, wanda brings up a hand to place on his back, gentle circular rubs an attempt to comfort him.]

You met Vision before, didn't you? [casually, easily, much as it pains her; yet this is also big, because wanda is sharing something precious to her with the boy.] ...when I lost my brother, Pietro, and I was so overwhelmed by everything I was feeling, there was one thing he said — and that thing, it changed how I saw my pain. "What is grief, if not love persevering?" In that calm, wise way of his, parsing through human emotion. [the circular motions on his back stop, but the warmth of her hand remains there. she turns to look at him, a small smile on her face, eyes glossier.] Perhaps it can help you, too.

[with the loss of tony stark and the void left by it in peter's life.]

Edited 2022-03-01 03:16 (UTC)

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( Ah, yes. He recognizes that look. That's the sight of a person who has no goddamn idea what to do with themselves when they're presented with all the trappings of a happy, loving home.

Relatable.

He wanders over, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets, a slow amble. )

Hey.

( Last time he saw her was Stark's funeral. The time before that, she was helping him escape. They haven't exactly had a ton of calm down-time to get to know each other. No time like the present. )

Feels a little like walking into a magazine, doesn't it? One of those... fifteen ways to dress a turkey that your family's gonna love catalogs.

[she'll give it to bucky, the ability of showing up most casually and speaking like there isn't a chasm of time and situations between their last meeting and now. it helps making wanda feel more relaxed—like there is no grand fanfare of sorts, like she can be passively out-of-place.

wanda smiles lightly at his words.]

I did not even think of that, but now that you mention it... [a look around herself] yes.

[her gaze return to focus on him, posture relaxing, eyes moving up to his hair, which she gestures to when she speaks next.]

It looks good on you.

[the new hair. besides, bucky looks ... more his age? (not however hundred years old he is—) a bit healthier? like something's changed, for the better, even if just minimally.]

( Hey, if you wanna talk about the passage of time or the moral implications of wrongdoings, he is not the guy for you. Way easier to just ignore all your problems and be sarcastic instead.

He offers a small, tight smile at the compliment. Responds just a little dryly, but it's all in good humor. )

Thanks. Helps with the whole not getting recognized on the street for domestic terrorism thing.

[for all of wanda's reservations on this new world, being plucked away from their own and whatever they were in the midst of, she will have to agree with part of bucky's sentiment.

a slight shrug of one shoulder, she juggles his words with her own.]

At least that is not what you are known for here.

[—followed, quickly, by the raising of a brow, hoping that it has not been the case...? wanda doesn't anchor herself on this point of conversation, though, looking around at the walls with the family pictures. she points at them with a finger.]

Very American dream. [but she is in no way trying to be rude] Sam must miss them.

Yet.

( He mumbles wryly under his breath. It's still early days, who knows. Plenty of time to get hijacked and forced to ruin his own life.

He turns his attention to the photos alongside her, studying the faces of Sam's nephews. He's gotten pretty fond of them himself. He's no uncle Bucky by any means, but they seem to like him. It's a nice change of pace. )

They're good kids.

( He agrees, that fondness bleeding through. Probably a little telling. He's always liked children — probably a byproduct of being an older brother. )

[the both of them do seem to teether on that verge of 'yet' as far as their lives are concerned. it's only a matter of time hangs like a sharp pendulum over their throats, always inching closer, dreadful and menacing.

whether she hears the comment or not, wanda makes no show of it. she smiles, instead, knowingly, at the way he says they're good kids—like he knows them.]

You met them? Wouldn't that imply that you and Sam—

[the rivalry and at-odds relationship between the two is not lost on wanda.]

—are getting along?

( He's rolling his eyes before she's even halfway through, about one point five steps away from groaning at the ceiling. )

Yeah, yeah, okay, you're... hilarious.

( Resigned but good-natured. )

We have a peace treaty.

( Joking — they're good. They're better than good, really. Sam's the stable source he's needed since he woke up, for the first time he feels a real tether to somebody that isn't Steve.

So.

That's something. )

Between you and me, it's all a ruse. I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to burn his crops.

So formal.

[her accent is thick in these words seeing as they drip with amusement. if he's calling her hilarious, the really funny part is that he's calling it a peace treaty, which is entirely his purpose in the first place.

it's good, though. it brings wanda some relief despite how messy everything is here, that there a sense of normalcy in her immediate world amongst those she loves.]

Well, you let me know when that happens. I don't want to promise that I won't choose a side, but I'll probably stand by Sam when it does happen. [a cheeky smile.] It's good to see you, Bucky.

[in case she didn't... express it properly.]

Did you arrive recently, too?

[ The idea of the Horizon still baffles Steve, still makes his brain ache when he starts trying to wrap his thoughts around this place, around how they got here, why these exist and... every thing else. It feels like waking from the ice all over again, but this time there are faces he remembers, people he knows, people he cares about. The horizon brings him a sense of calm that reminds him of home, in a way, but it could just be that everything reeks of Sam Wilson, and the man has become such a foundation for so many at this point, that, well. Steve isn't surprised.

There's the smell of food in the kitchen, the sound of idle chatter in the living room and Steve finds he wanders away from it when he hears the door. Sure, Sam should be the one greeting all the familiar faces - he's neutral territory where most are concerned, but Steve needs a second to breathe, anyway.

Or so he thought. He'd expected maybe Strange, or the kid from Queens, but when he sees Wanda, he pauses in his place. She looks different now, but don't they all - worn thin by a place they hadn't intended to be, worn thin by the life they left behind. ]

I'd offer to take your coat, but apparently, it's summer outside. [ Steve's voice stays gentle, quiet, tired in a way that he shouldn't be but is these days. But there's the Brooklyn twinkling under his words, and in the curve of his smile. He doesn't know what to expect, just as he doesn't expect the way his chest squeezes at the sight of so many of them here, after everything they've been through, and more. ]

Hello, Wanda.

[it's the sound of steve's words that have wanda peeling her eyes away from the walls and towards where he stands, stalwart as always, quiet in how he carries himself. this is the steve she had seen last—after thanos, after the world was made right again (but not for their own personal losses in the process). there is no mistaking him even by voice alone.

he barely gives her a chance to process his being there when he says her name in such a casual greeting, it's almost reason to laugh.

his name escapes her lips in a breath, barely a formed word.]

Steve.

[wanda hurries to remove the distance between them, arms tight around him as she allows herself to be comforted by his presence.

(after pietro was killed, it was steve who would come in to check on her as much as vision had; it was steve who looked after her, made sure she was doing alright. it was steve who made her feel like she was home even when her family and country was no more—in that quiet way of his, knowing when silence worked as much as words, knowing when her anger was just grief and emotion, not a true desire for action. he was someone wanda could follow, someone she knew understood her and didn't see her as a volatile, lost child. a big brother to replace the one she lost, even as she never cared to put a label to who he was in her life.)

she does not pull away from the embrace.]

You're really here.

[ Wanda surges forward in the space between them and his arms wrap around her shoulders without a moment's hesitation, hugging her tight to his chest. It strikes him suddenly that he hadn't spoken to her before he stepped back into time, before he decided to return the stones. He hadn't spoken to much of anyone but Bucky, really, and a small part of him regrets it already. ]

I'm here.

[ He laughs softly, his cheek tilting to rest against her hair. He owes her this protection, that much he knows. He even owes it to Nat, who had taken the girl under her wing, to look out for her. But even up close like this, he can see that something has changed, that time has passed, that the person in his arms is no longer the frightened girl he'd sit quietly beside in the compound living room, the girl he'd bring food to and expect no sign of gratitude, the girl he fought with on the battlefields. He doesn't entirely recognize the woman before him, but the way she still wears her heart behind her eyes, on her sleeve, says enough. ]

Couldn't miss out on the fun. Turns out quite a few of us ended up here, somehow. Sam told me. [ A beat, and he pulls back just enough to look down into her face. ]

Are you alright? [ He doesn't release her, instead gives her shoulders a soft squeeze. ]

[the last thing wanda would want is for anyone to blame themselves for the decisions they've made. having learned what happened from clint, wanda is certain nat wouldn't want anyone questioning her choice; the same can be said about tony, vision, and even steve. however steve decided to go, it was his prerogative.

but, really, in the warmth of his embrace, all wanda can think is how she would forgive him in a heartbeat if he were to apologize for anything.

wanda tilts her chin upwards to look at him, something of a smile on her expression, her eyes searching his face as if to imply just how long it's been since she last saw him.]

You're in good hands with Sam. [as they all are. she nods at his question.] Doing my best to gather my bearings. I'm in the same faction as Tony Stark.

[but it's fine ?? her hands are anchored on his arms, holding on to them.]

What about you? Being in a place like this after you — you know.

[actually—her question comes quiet, searching:]

When do you come from?

At least there's a familiar face.

[ Tony.

At least she is with someone on the team, though where things left off hadn't exactly been great. Steve trusts Tony, even with the murky waters that flow between them, and now is no different. He keeps Wanda in his embrace, but her question brings a question to his eyes, one he doesn't voice.

after you — you know

He could see something in Sam's expression, back when he arrived, that something hadn't quite lined up. That there was something more he'd been missing, but he hasn't given voice to the question yet. But looking down at Wanda, studying her face, he sees lines and colors that hadn't been there before, and he's acutely aware that time has passed.

Time always passes him by, it seems. ]

Just stepped on that platform to return the stones, but wound up here instead. [ A beat, then: ] I guess I should ask when everyone is from.

[ Even though a part of him isn't too sure he wants to know - he's never been keen on knowing too much, on having information that will lead him nowhere. Practicalities, and all that. ]

[it all becomes exceptionally clear very quickly to wanda: steve has no idea what happened to him after he stepped on the platform to return the stones to their respective points in time. obviously he had done it, that much wanda knows, but his fate afterwards... well, that's as much a secret as anything else, and one that someone like bucky or sam might know better.

but steve would never ask anything for himself, not out loud anyway.]

You should ask Sam, or Bucky. [is what she offers instead, at that silent question that will likely never come. she pries away from him, but it's just so she can hold his hands with her own.] I'm not too long after Stark's funeral.

[she breathes, like there's more she wants to say. wanda squeezes his hands, her brows furrowing, jaw tightening as if emotion were sweeping her—doubt and thoughts conflicting. she wants to be guarded, be more careful about who gets involved with her anymore, but it's steve.

it is after another exhale that she brings her eyes up to meet his own, the usual steeliness in her expression as she tries to keep her cool.]

I went to look for Vis. It had been five years—I just... wanted to know for sure.

Edited 2022-03-13 01:37 (UTC)

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[ closed ] avengers: civil dinner parties

first meetings, ota.

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