Snowstorms and matchmaking: An early Valentine's post

[shardofwinter]

Winter in the Nexus has been especially present this year. The weather has presented plenty of hardships for the past few months, something which numerous people have bemoaned. It doesn't look set to change, either. If anything, Winter seems to be going stronger than ever. There are no signs of it winding down at all.

Everything seems normal at first, the usual hustle and bustle has the Nexus thrumming now that people have adapted to the cold conditions. Then, rather suddenly, everything kicks into gear. The wind starts to howl, battering people to and fro. Not long after that, the sky becomes thick with snow, making it nearly impossible to see, the biting cold driving people back inside. It soon becomes completely inhospitable to all wandering around outside.

In the hurry to get out of the storm, people end up scurrying to the nearest available shelter. Apartment lobbies, houses, cafés, shops, restaurants, the library... Anywhere and everywhere that offers some shelter. Peculiarly, people seem to end up in pairs as they hide away from the cold. Looks like everyone is going to have to huddle close together. For... warmth... We'll say it's for warmth.

((This is entirely an excuse to shove characters together and force them to spend time with each other. Feel free to have as many threads as you like, trying as many combinations as you like, where ever you like. Brave souls can try and berate Reynard if they really want to.))

Comments

[juststeverogers]

"W-won't you be cold?" Poor Steve looks downright miserable and he's starting to wheeze with every breath. He brings his mittens up to his face to try and help the piercing pain in his lungs with every inhale.

"Need to find someplace w-warmer.."

[hellburger]

"Don't sweat it," he says, unwinding the scarf and passing it to Steve. He buttons his shirt up to his neck and replaces his aviators.

"Warmer, yeah." Miller gets to his feet and peers out into the storm, arms crossed and hands stuffed in his armpits. No lights, not even the shadows of buildings -- it's a goddamned whiteout.

"How far are we from that store?" he nods to Steve's groceries. "Maybe we can backtrack."

[juststeverogers]

"Half-ff a mile or s-so." Steve is quick to wrap up in the scarf, breathing a sigh of relief at the shield between his mouth and nose and the outside air. He's still freezing, but at least he can breathe.

Mostly.

"Wouldn't...we get lost?"

[hellburger]

Miller exhales a long puff of frosty air. "Well, if we follow the infrastructure, we should be alright. Just go lamp post by lamp post until we find something -- anything -- better than this place."

He looks back at Steve. "You up for it, buddy?"

[juststeverogers]

Steve nods, scooping up his groceries and clutching them close to his poofy coat lined chest. Leaving the wind break of the bus shelter sounds horrible, but they can't just stay there of they're going to freeze.

"I'll have your six." Comes the muffled yet determined reply.

[hellburger]

Miller nods and steps out into the thick accumulation of snow. He keeps his head down against the driving wind, but glances up regularly to check his bearings and make sure he hasn't lost Steve.

By the time they've passed a few lamp posts, the snow has melted down into his combat boots and he begins to lose sensation in his feet. This is fucking miserable.

"How you holding up back there?" he calls against the wind.

[juststeverogers]

"Can't ff-ff-feel my legs!" Comes the muffled wheezy reply, but Steve's still back there, head down and trudging through the snow. His fingers are starting to get numb despite his gloves, too.

This is the worst. He's going to freeze to death and not get a chance to try the deviled eggs he bought at the deli.

"Are we c-close?"

[hellburger]

"Close to more snow, sure," Miller mutters. He wipes more ice from his sunglasses with numb fingers.

"This is starting to look familiar! Shouldn't be long now," he lies through his chattering teeth. Whatever it takes to keep this guy going. "I can take those bags if you need."

[juststeverogers]

There's something that could be a light, a faint bluish glow that winks in and out of sight in between the gusts of wind. Maybe that's it?

"I've got it. Don't worry!" The cold has seeped through his jeans and is soaking into his bones. He is never going to be warm again. This is the kind of cold Steve remembers from Brooklyn's winters. He'd hoped he was past that, coming here.

[hellburger]

Miller didn't spot the light at first, but as they move closer it coalesces into the hazy, glowing lines of a neon sign. A few more frigid yards and it's possible to make out the letters: "Sienn's Den."

The building itself has several distinguishing features: discreetly covered windows, a single red door, and a few weakly flickering holo screens cycling through images of alluring female forms -- not all of which are human. Oh boy. He knows exactly what this is and he smiles.

"AW YEAH! This beats the hell out of a bus stop!"

[juststeverogers]

"What does?" Steve is too busy using Kazuhira as a wind break to look around. Quickly deciding it doesn't matter, he hunches up his shoulders.

"Doesn't matter, let's go please?"

The next thing Steve knows, he's being herded into a red door and into a disturbingly long lobby with a hallway that turns abruptly so as not to allow anyone to see further inside. Steve blinks, trying to adjust to the very dim lighting of this place. Why is it so dark in here?

"W...where are we?" He's still shivering despite being out of the wind.

[hellburger]

Snow and ice sloughs off of the pair and leaves a trail down the hall. Miller props his sunglasses up at his hairline -- it's too dark and the (admittedly slight) temperature change is making them fog. There's music blaring further in, the bass line thrumming against the walls.

He slaps a hand on Steve's upper back, knocking off more snow. "You telling me you've never been to a strip club? You're in for a real treat."

Hopefully. Kaz can't really vouch for the Nexus's offerings in this department.

[juststeverogers]

"A...a-a what?!" Steve can't believe this. He's got a bag of groceries in his arms, a child's Hulk coat on (with matching mittens),and they're in a strip club. He literally can't believe this.

Also, why is it still so cold in here ? Steve hopes the dames have been allowed to get dressed at least. He doesn't like the idea of anyone in their skivvies when the weathers like this.

[hellburger]

Turning one more corner, the unlikely pair finally face the lounge proper. The club boasts one main stage with an orbit of several smaller platforms. There's a bar to one side lined with the wide variety of both strange and familiar bottles that one might expect from a multiversal establishment. Also notable are some hookah-like fixtures that appear to be the source of the haze that hangs in the air.

"Hello?!" Miller yells over the music. There is an eerie lack of patrons or staff.

He steps up to one of the smaller table-stages and rests a hand on the back of a leather chair. There's a click and a hum as a shimmering hologram comes to life. Miller takes a startled step back.

"Hey there, handsome," the projection croons as she drags a hand up her side seductively. He finds the alien head tentacles a little off-putting, but everything else looks standard-issue female.

Kaz exhales with a chuckle. "Scared me there!"

[juststeverogers]

"A-are you sure this is...uhm..." Steve peers around the corner with an uncertain frown. "Why is this place so empty?" He doesn't like the look of this.

Or the smell of this. Or really anything. The cold form outside is seeping in through every gust of wind. It's better than the bus shelter, but surely there's a heater around here somewhere?

[hellburger]

"Eh, everyone probably headed home when the storm hit. There's probably some staff hanging out in the back," he says, half-watching the hologram gyrate. After a minute or two it's clear that she's prerecorded footage, occasionally playing sultry voice clips encouraging her audience to tip or buy a drink.

Speaking of drinks, Miller leans over the bar and shouts another 'hello' before helping himself to a bottle with a label he can actually read. Whiskey.

He takes a hit, winces and offers the bottle to Steve. "Have a nip ...? Didn't catch your name, but I remember running into uh, your body back during the whole swap fiasco."

[juststeverogers]

"Guess so." Steve watches one of the female figures swiveling her hips while she dances in a small circle and finds himself blushing and averting his gaze quickly. Less awkward than if she were real, but still awkward enough that he's not comfortable just standing there staring.

"Steve Rogers." The small man replies easily. He eyes the bottle and then Kaz before accepting it and taking a sip. He doesn't cough or anything at it, but he does pull a face and shake his head. "I don't drink much." Not that it would take much to get him drunk, he's ninety pounds soaking wet.

"Thanks for getting us inside somewhere." It's important to be grateful no matter how weird a place they find themselves in now.

[hellburger]

"Kazuhira Miller. And no problem, buddy. You probably wouldn't have lasted long out there." Neither would Kaz, but he's not going to admit that.

Maybe whatever's powering the holograms will put off a little heat? Can't hurt and hey, it's entertainment. He moves around the tables, pushing chairs to activate the other dancers.

That done, he unbuttons his shirt and peels it off -- the thing is soaked through and not helping him feel any warmer. He's still got an undershirt (equally wet) to keep him decent. He leans over the bar again and pulls out a towel this time, gives it a sniff (clean enough), and runs it through his wet hair.

"Put those groceries down and get cozy. We're probably gonna be here for a while."

[juststeverogers]

Steve thinks to squawk a protest at that comment, but holds it in. He's still cold, if they're being honest here, and his jeans are soaked through making him shiver all the more. His coat has done a good job of keeping his shirt dry, but Steve pulls off his damp gloves and sets the grocery bag down on the floor.

"Here." He pulls the coat off and hands it to Kazhuhira. Having it off makes him shake worse, but this guy is wet all the way through. He needs something to warm up. "It won't fit around you, but you can use it like a blanket or a shawl?"

Without it on, it's easy to see how thin Steve really is. Nothing more than skin and bones, really. The button up he's wearing is big on him--a hand me down from someone built much larger than he.

[hellburger]

Miller furrows his brows, glancing between the offered coat and Steve's painfully frail physique. After a moment's silent deliberation, he tosses the towel aside and accepts the garment, draping it over his shoulders. He figures Steve could use to redeem some masculinity. "Thanks."

He does a cursory check of the rest of the venue, politely knocking on a few doors before peering inside. Snooping reveals a backstage dressing room for whatever live performances the place hosts, a manager's office, and some restrooms. Still no signs of life.

Satisfied with the recon, Miller resumes rummaging through the bar's amenities -- one of which is a large, metallic urn that radiates warmth. He grabs a cup and presses the lever on the spigot. After some sputtering it spits out the dregs of a dark liquid that smells reminiscent of burnt coffee. But hey, it's warm.

He makes his way back to Steve and offers the beverage. "I think it's coffee? At the very least it might keep your hands warm for a bit."

Miller is content to stick with whiskey -- he takes the bottle and eases back into a leather chair.

[juststeverogers]

"Thanks, Miller."

Steve takes a cursory sip of the liquid and decides he's had worse coffee. And at any rate it helps keep his hands from turning into ice cubes. The same cannot be said for his legs. Steve's taken to pacing in circles in the dimly lit area, trying to keep up activity to stay as warm as he can.

"No one else is here after all?" He asks when the military man has taken a seat.

[hellburger]

"Nope. Just us and the projection ladies." He kicks his feet up on the edge of the table and alternates between watching the hologram and the small man's agitated movements.

"Say, Steve! You happen to know if this place has an emergency broadcast? Something that might get us more info about this storm?"

[juststeverogers]

"Well that's...kind of a relief." This is awkward enough without trying to keep actual strip club ladies warm too. In Steve's mind, at least.

"Hm? No, the phones are dead. And I tried mine but not even Miss Siri can talk to us here." He holds up his own phone with a frown. "I'm afraid we may be stuck here for some time. At...least we won't starve?" He does have food in that bag.

[hellburger]

Miller drapes an arm down and waves a palm at the base of the table-stage-projector. The thing's been running long enough to start generating a little heat. "Hey, I think there's some vents under here for cooling the hologram equipment. Not toasty, but it's better than nothing."

He pats the chair next to him. "Take a load off and tell me about yourself."

[juststeverogers]

"Oh. okay." Steve really doesn't argue because he's been miserable since he took his coat off, but making sure Miller doesn't get hypothermia is slightly more important than his own comfort.

He still tries not to shiver so much when he sits down.

"Not much to tell, to be honest? I'm from New York. December, 1941." Pearl harbor just happened, the US was deploying all over Europe and the Pacific. "Been here since the summer, actually."