capeandcowllogs | come my little friends as we all sing a happy little working song

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come my little friends as we all sing a happy little working song

WHO: Cap and Spider-Woman
WHERE: The Avengers's ice cream parlour.
WHEN: Tonight. ~~YOU.~~
WARNINGS: None.
SUMMARY: Let's play get to know you!
FORMAT: Quicklog or paragraph.

[Steve is sitting at a table in the parlour, smiling a little. He's in costume, technically, but his cowl is pulled back. He's not exactly concerned about his identity, after all. Softly, he hums under his breath as he waits for Jessica to show up.]

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[Jessica is a little late, and a little out of breath as she enters the parlour. She tries to ignore the panic on the face of the guy behind the counter; he definitely recognizes her from last time. In her defense, it was all Peter's fault.]

Cap!

[Jess manages to restrain herself from waving dorkily, but only just. She pushes her mask back as she joins him at his table, shaking out her hair.]

It's really good of you to meet up with me like this. I know we're basically strangers, but it means a lot to me.

[ Steve stands up when Jess comes over, face lighting the moment he lays eyes on her. When she gets closer, he holds out a hand for a shake. ]

It's a pleasure to meet you too, Miss Drew. Really, it means a lot to me too that you have such a high opinion of me.

[Bashfully, he runs a hand through his hair.]

I spend a lot of time trying my best to live up to people's expectations and sometimes it feels like I fail more than I succeed. Still, we do our best, right?

[She shakes his hand, firmly, then sits at the table.]

Please, call me Jessica, or Jess. I haven't been Miss Drew since I first tried keeping a secret identity, and I really don't need to be reminded of that.

[She smiles at his bashfulness, then idly plays with a menu; it's pretty clearly a nervous gesture.]

I know what it's like to be in that situation. I mean, not to the extent you do, obviously. But yeah, we all try our best, and hope it's good enough.

[Cap sits as she does. He would have pulled her chair out for her, but... well. Some women don't respond well to that, he's found.]

If you're going to be Jess, then you should call me Steve.

[And the admission of his secret identity is an easy thing. To be fair, it's not like it's ever been that much of a secret, not among friends.]

Yes... I imagine we all do at some point...

[He smiles, then, and it's the sun rising from behind the storm clouds.]

But, enough about things that we can't change. Why don't you tell me about yourself? You obviously know a lot about me, but I know hardly anything about you. That's a little unfair, don't you think?

Okay, Steve...

[She smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, but her expression fade back into one of that's almost sad.]

Me? My life hasn't exactly been great. [She shrugs, and takes a moment before beginning.] My parents worked for a terrorist organisation called HYDRA. You might have them in your world, they tend to get everywhere. My father was a scientist looking doing things with spider DNA, which basically led to me being, well, what I am. When my powers kicked in I fell into a coma and stayed that way for nearly ten years, and when I woke up HYDRA brainwashed me into becoming a superpower operative for them. Nick Fury-you might recognize that name, too-showed me the truth, and I became a superhero. More or less.

[She has been staring at the table while reciting this, but now glances up at Steve; it's hard to meet his eyes when she admits to being a terrorist weapon, more or less.]

There's a little more, some recent stuff, but it's not really important. But I've been presuming you're exactly the same as the Captain America I knew. Is there anything else I should know?

We do have HYDRA where I come from, yes...

[Steve is heartbroken at the sad story that Jessica has just presented to him. Without thinking about it, he reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder.]

I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, Jess. [And he smiles a little, coaxing her to look at him again.] I'm very glad, though, that you're a hero now. We need more ladies fighting with the lads.

[He thinks about her question for a little bit, pondering.]

I'm not sure. It seems to me like the biggest difference between me and other Caps is that my world isn't as complicated. Most of our problems are black and white, so they're easier to solve. [A beat, then he adds, with a rueful smile.] It also seems like we're a little friendlier. Some of the people I've met here... haven't been quite as welcoming as you, I'll admit.

[Whatever worry and anxiety Jess was feeling has faded a little, now that Steve doesn't seem disgusted by or frightened of her. Knowing he's on her side, knowing he's not afraid to put his hand out to comfort her, makes it a little easier.]

It's not so bad. I've dealt with it pretty well up to now. I mean, HYDRA still likes to think it has some sort of hold on me, but it'll be a dark day before I go back to them. [She shrugs.] Like you said, we all do the best we can, right?

[She smiles again, a little more confident.]

I think this entire place puts people on edge. It's all secrets and conspiracies and unfamiliar people, not the black and white you might be used to. And it's not just heroes who get brought in. The bad guys have their own plans, as always.

[Cap gives her shoulder a little squeeze before he pulls back, completely at ease with her. After all, she'd said that she had been brainwashed, but that she was better now. What was there to worry about?]

Yes, exactly. HYDRA isn't very smart... still, if you need help with them, we've all got your back.

[And he says that lightly, as if it's a forgone conclusion that all heroes would join together to help her-- which they would, back where he's from.]

I- yes, that makes sense. I've been uncomfortable too, to tell the truth. It's sad that so many people seem more likely to distrust a stranger than not...

[To be honest, when he's talking about unfriendly people, he's thinking about Tony in particular. That the alternate reality of his best friend seems to dislike him so strongly is a major cause of unhappiness for Cap, especially with what he'd learned from Spider-Man earlier in the day.

Still, that's not Jessica's fault. He grins at her, then, in a way that says 'we have a secret, you and me']

I'm glad that you held out a welcoming hand, though. I always like making new friends. [He pauses, then taps the menu.] The ice cream's a plus too.

[Jess nods, her face serious.]

Well, there's a few people here from my world. You've been talking to some of them, I think. And the thing is, the last big...crisis, I suppose you could call it, involved a load of alien shapeshifters kidnapping and impersonating superhero. There was a big fight at the end, like there always is, but people were really shaken up. The people who had been fooled didn't know who to trust, and those of us who had been taken, well, we didn't know what might have been said by people pretending to be us.

[She shrugs.] So that might be why some people are so suspicious. It's definitely why I'm, uh, quite eager to make new friends, too. So bringing you here wasn't just about the ice cream.

Alien shapeshifters? Shoot, that must have been ... terrible.

[Steve doesn't know what he would have done, honestly. He's never liked the idea of spies and the idea of being betrayed by someone wearing the face of a loved one? Well, that's horrifying to him.

Even after that, though, he has no doubts about Jessica's identity. Cap has too much faith in the honesty of others to foster doubts like that.]

I understand...

[He doesn't have a glass, so he offers her his hand, oath-style.]

To our friendship.

Well, I was out of play for most of the time, but yeah. The aftermath wasn't fun.

[There's just something so undeniably wholesome about Cap that Jess has a hard time reading any ulterior motives in anything he's been doing. She has no leverage over him, she can't offer him much more than basic information, and they've never met before, but he's managed to make things seem better just by being here.

She's almost in awe of him as she reaches out and takes his hand solemnly.]

To our friendship, and long may it last.

[Steve squeezes her hand and there's a moment of intense clarity where he feels like the walls drop -- they're just two people connected by their common goals circumstances. It's strange, but somehow comforting and he's smiling softly as he pulls away.]

Long may it last...

[And then reality snaps back into place and, shocked, Steve pulls the Captain America persona back on. It's not that much of a change -- Steve Rogers and Cap are practically the same person by now. The only difference is that Cap just doesn't feel emotions as strongly, or as personally, as Steve does... and having a little distance is probably a good idea right now, Steve thinks.]

So I think a celebration is in order. What's your favorite ice cream flavor? I'll treat you.

[There's a similar moment for Jess; a feeling of camaraderie and shared purpose that she hasn't often felt, especially not lately.

But she can sense the slight change in Steve as he reigns in his emotions. She reflexively check to make sure she hasn't been inadvertently leading him on with her pheromones, and runs over their conversation in her head; nothing seems untoward, so maybe he's just interested in ice cream. He's harder to read than she might have expected.]

Oh, well-[She glances at the list again.]-you actually really put me in the mood for a milkshake. I haven't had one in years. Maybe...strawberry?

[Steve nods, smiling genially.]

Good choice!

[He waves a waiter over and orders, strawberry for the lady and vanilla for himself.]

[The two of them enjoyed their milkshakes very much, although Jessica thought her tasty ice cream might be bugged because she's adorably paranoid and Cap didn't realize that this was sort of a date because he's an oblivious idiot, and after they finished, they happily went their separate ways.]

[Also, Toast is the queen of run-on sentences.]

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come my little friends as we all sing a happy little working song

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