[open] january/february catchall

[techmaturgy]

Who: Viktor and special guests and YOU
When: January through early February
Where: Cadens, the Horizon
What: open stuff, closed stuff, dangerous and illicit magical surgery, the usual
Warnings: the usual references to terminal illness including a steep decline and medical procedures/surgery. will list additional warnings as needed.

[open and closed starters in comments! This is also a general catch-all for Viktor’s do-or-die attempt to cure himself, and the events leading up to it, and his recovery (to come later). If you want a custom starter or something specific, just hit me up. full horizon details are here for any and all wildcarding needs. For everything else, I’m on plurk at whitticus and on discord at whitticus#8139.]

Comments

[assembles]

That's a quick recovery time, all things considered.

[ It had been experimental, after all, with no guarantee that Viktor would even survive. But between those odds and a certain death, there had really been no choice. Given that he'd had some other kind of more-than-human blood, maybe it had done its job and ensured that he wasn't completely wiped out by the operation.

Because a few weeks in bed is a small price to pay for your entire life ahead of you. Steve's mouth twitches, not quite a smile because his reason for being here is still in the back of his mind. But he knows what it's like to have a new lease on life and know you won't have death coming to collect sooner rather than later.

After a pause, he steps forward to take a seat in the chair near Viktor's bed. ]

It must be pretty surreal.

[techmaturgy]

Well, I'm being magically healed.

[A little bit, every day. Viktor welcomes it, partially because of the side effect-free pain relief, mostly because it means he'll be out of this bed sooner rather than later. He finally has all the time in the world that he needs to sleep and otherwise rest, but Viktor needs a project to work on, and he's becoming antsy, cooped up in his bedroom, necessary as it is.

Steve inviting himself into the chair next to his bed is a little surprising, but Viktor isn't going to say no to conversation, bored as he is. Still, it does seem a little forward, and it makes him think that maybe Steve is here for more than just a courtesy visit.]

I've decided to sleep first, and process later. [A joke, maybe.] But, yes. Strange, to all at once have the luxury of time.

[assembles]

[ Right. Magic will go a long way when it comes to both managing the pain and speeding up the process, Steve imagines. Despite being here in Abraxas for well over half a year now, Steve sometimes still forgets that magic is so prevalent in this world, especially since the Free Cities tends to prefer mixing it with technology.

Sleep first, process later. Not a bad idea. ] It'll probably take some time to sink in. You kind of have to... reorient everything. [ He doesn't specify anymore that he's speaking from experience. Viktor gets the idea.

Besides, Steve had never fully reoriented. Even after the serum, he'd known there was a good chance he'd die fighting Hydra. And he had... sort of.

Either way, he can only stall for so long. Steve draws a deep breath into his lungs, then lets it out again. His hands settle in his lap and he fights the urge to wring them. ]

I'd like to say that I'm just here to check on you and offer my congrats, but... there is something I needed to tell you, too.

[techmaturgy]

Yes, reorient is a good word for it.

[Reconfigure. Reassess. Lots of reevaluation, once he's feeling well enough to do so. For now, he's enjoying the relative quiet, and the relief that comes with a lack of urgency. That relief, however, is slightly short lived. Viktor suspects that a simple check-in is not necessarily the whole reason that Steve is here.

He thinks he already knows, unfortunately, and he frowns.]

It's Tony, isn't it?

[He'd thought it strange that he hasn't come by yet, though part of that is easily written off by the general idea that Tony doesn't like being around illness. Now, however, it's starting to become glaring, and Viktor takes that to mean only one thing.]

[assembles]

[ Viktor is smart, and that doesn't just extend to inventions and formulas and equations. He'd probably already been trying to figure out why Steve had come here when it would have been more polite to wait a little longer, and maybe he'd even noticed something in the slant of his shoulders or the dimness of his gaze.

Well, the cat's out of the bag and Steve exhales through his nose as he nods. ]

It's Tony.

[ He would have visited by now. For all that Tony can get distracted or put things off, he would have been here if he was still around. Viktor seems to know that too. ]

I checked the Horizon, too. The Tower's starting to fade.

[ He stares down at his lap. He's still processing this himself, if he's completely honest. The last time he and Tony saw each other, he'd had no idea it was the final time. Sure, there's a chance he'll come back with or without his memories, but there's just as much of a chance that he won't. ]

[techmaturgy]

I thought so.

[There's no other explanation for his absence, otherwise. Viktor knows, despite practically everything about him, that he'd be here for him regardless, if only to gloat about how they accomplished this feat in part because of him. He can almost picture it, if not for the fact that it isn't happening. And won't, because Tony is gone.

In any other situation, Viktor might be glad for him--no one should be kept here against their will, and from what they know anyone who vanishes returns home. Of course, for Tony that means death. Once again, Viktor finds himself with the niggling thought that he could do something about this. Make the summoning ritual less a cruel twist of fate and more a tool to be used.

Right now, however, there's nothing to be done. He appreciates that Steve is telling him, either way.]

I'm sorry. I know you two have a long history. [A complicated one, one that Viktor barely knows much about, so he isn't going to pretend he knows how Steve feels about all this. All he can offer is his own experience, and a sympathetic ear.] He was a good friend to me.

[assembles]

[ What can be said? Steve doesn't even know if Tony told Viktor about his ultimate fate, but knowing him he would have offhandedly mentioned it when he came back with a cloudy eye and a whole set of scars. As Viktor says, they were friends.

A long history is one way to put it, and Steve struggles to find the words to explain any of that now.

He stares down at his hands, at fingers wrung together, at his knuckles and how they whiten as he grips too hard. ]

This is all he had, for better or worse. [ His words seem to turn stale in the air as soon as he speaks them. ] You know, we were at odds for a long time. Not on speaking terms. We reconciled not long before...

[ He trails off then, shakes his head. There's no getting around how awful this is, and it must feel even stranger for Viktor, who just got a new lease on life. ] Anyway. I don't mean to bring the mood down when you've got plenty to celebrate, but I figured you should know.

[techmaturgy]

I know.

[Viktor had told him as much--that it was his job, now, to do good here. A second and final chance. Even if he couldn't go home, he could, at least, seize a new opportunity.

More than anything, Viktor hates how the choice was made for him.]

All of that is lost now. I'd known that there were...difficulties. With regards to your team.

[He's never heard the full story, but he always assumed that it wasn't really any of his business. Maybe he should just be glad that Steve and Tony were on speaking terms here. Working towards mending their relationship. Now this.]

You don't need to apologize. Thank you for telling me.

[assembles]

[ It's a long story, one that would take way too much time and energy to explain when Viktor is in the middle of recovery and when Steve's still processing this loss. He appreciates that Viktor is the sort of person who won't push too hard on it. ]

We managed to put it all behind us when it really mattered.

[ When they had to put an end to a Mad Titan once and for all and regain all of their lost friends. He reminds himself that Natasha is still here, and tries to hold onto that. Or the fact that this place has allowed Wanda some time to heal, that it introduced her to someone who's easing the pain in her heart. ]

And yeah, of course. [ He lifts an arm to drag his hand back through his hair, then lets out a long sigh, as if he can now release at least a small amount of that tension built up in his chest. ] The fact that he stayed long enough to help you get well... I think it would've meant a lot to him.

[ That he'd done some good with his second chance. ]

And if by some miracle I make it back with my memories intact, I'll tell his wife and daughter about the things he did here.

[ For whatever small consolation it might give them. ]

[techmaturgy]

That's good. I'm glad to hear that.

[Not that he ever thought anything else. He's only vaguely aware of the interpersonal struggles of Steve and Tony's government-slash-military operation, but it seems like they all pushed through when it really mattered. That's something.

All he can do now is not in agreement. It's difficult, knowing that Tony won't be here to share in their success, but he is thankful that he was here long enough to accomplish it. Viktor will always be grateful for that.]

Thank you, Steve.