stands_for_something: (Reading)
Steve Rogers ([personal profile] stands_for_something) wrote in [community profile] nexus_sages2016-03-11 09:37 pm

A Break in the Weather

There's an old man sitting at a table in the Forum, reading his way through a pile of mail and enjoying one of the first balmy days this part of the Nexus has had in a while. To all appearances, the letters are a series of magazine-publisher sweepstakes entry forms, if anyone feels like reading over his shoulder.

Setting one down, he sighs, then looks up and turns a question toward whomever might be around and inclined to talk. "Does anyone have a story of a particularly satisfying way they quit a job? Or if you're management, a satisfying way you dealt with a problem employee?"
brave_heart_verity: (listening)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
Is it magic that makes a cup of coffee appear next to his pile of mail? No, it's just Verity, lurking nearby and definitely getting noticed when she puts down the little cup of milk and packets of sugar if he hadn't seen her coming with the coffee. "I wasn't sure how you like it," she explains quietly.

"Someone I went to college with once quit a job through interpretive dance." She pauses a beat before adding, "Theater major," like that explains things.
brave_heart_verity: (relieved)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
However old he may look these days, that smile of his hasn't diminished any. Everybody's a little bit in love with Captain America, that's just a fact, so excuse her slightly goofy answering smile. "Nothing wrong with enjoying a good coffee on its own merits. Thank you."

Ver sits down across from him, hands folded loosely around her own drink. She's curious about the mail but has been careful to not look at it too closely. "I'm told it was pretty impressive. There was a costume and everything. Lots of feathers, if the mess in the hallway was any indication."
brave_heart_verity: (not so sure about this)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
This is why he's her favorite. He can sit down and be nice to a card-carrying coward and not even mention that her coffee is mixed with akh. "But with a little sugar to mask the bitterness? Try adding a pinch of salt to the coffee grounds. The coffee won't taste salty but it's much less bitter." No coffee magic secrets are kept from him. No, sir.

"I know. It probably would have started a trend. Hashtags and things." The mail gets another glance before she asks, "Wait, was I supposed to read all that stuff in my mail instead of throwing it away?"
brave_heart_verity: (cautiously optimistic)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
Saltwater tea is one of the most underrated American delicacies. "Mm-hmm. Girl's got to do something exciting on Friday nights, you know." She plays at chemistry for fun and has magic, how exactly did she not end up a superhero?

"Oh." Well, that's good. She'd have been miffed if that was how SHIELD decided to tell her she was being hired for a job she never wanted. "That's... really clever, actually. And kind of explains why Clint's so fussy about what I do with his piles of old mail."

Whoops.
brave_heart_verity: (surprised laugh)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
It is so sad that he gets that reference when it takes her a minute. What is this life she's been living. Too much good sense, indeed. "Yeah. That's true. I think my neighbors would have complained."

Ver would be laughing at that if she weren't so shocked. Because that's... she's not even sure that counts as English. "'The ramrod of this sewing circle'? Seriously? Oh man." Now she's laughing. And plotting exactly when to pull that out. Sibling rivalries are cutthroat in their family.
brave_heart_verity: (o rly)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
Sometimes there are commercials for things when he's watching his classic movies channel? "Mostly cooking. I'm definitely sure my neighbors would object to my trying to make fireworks."

Clint gets no breaks. Except possibly getting Ver on his team, but that's still debatable. If teasing and getting teased about the 'old-timey' slang is fair, there are questions she could ask... such questions... but she'd be too embarrassed to say that to him. "Still. Did you explain to him what initials are at some point, or is he still tragically confused on that point?"
brave_heart_verity: (blushing)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 05:43 am (UTC)(link)
"You heard about that?" She is pleased and blushing all at once. "I um. You could come find out for yourself sometime. If you'd like."

A country like America needs to have a mischievous streak to keep things going, and it's only fitting their living symbol have one too. "That would be very sisterly of me. To make sure he wasn't confused."
brave_heart_verity: (smirk)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Then we'll have to do that. I can have some ready for dinner tomorrow if you'd like." One of the good things about the recipe is she can start it the night before and let most of the cooking happen while she's asleep. Sneakily convenient things, slow cookers.

Truth, justice, liberty, freedom, democracy, moral fortitude, cowboy diplomacy, mischief, good oral hygiene, respecting one's elders, free speech, individualism, and self-determination? "Of course. So you can update your files and enter him to win that hot tub."

Ver gets a little more serious then. She can't read what's in those files, but it makes her wonder. "You know, I think getting registered came with some kind of clearance level. If you need to talk about something?"
brave_heart_verity: (excited)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 06:28 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, so she's making dinner for Captain America. No big deal. Really. She can handle this. "Let me write down directions to my new apartment." Oh god oh god her first formal dinner guest is Captain America oh god.

"Oh, he'd love a grill set. Guess I'll need to think of a new birthday present for him." Don't worry Grandtain it wasn't really going to be a grill set. And honestly, non-Skrull meats to grill would probably be more popular anyway.

"That's an excellent question. I have no idea. I went, I registered, and I never went back. But I still have my old ID card." She'll get out her wallet while she's digging out a pad and pen. It's a sketch pad full of bad sketches she's scribbled over in frustration. Someone's attempts to teach herself to draw are not going well. She hands over the ID before starting the directions and drawing a map. "Here we go. Think it's on there?"
brave_heart_verity: (fragile)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-12 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
She can breathe and have a little panic attack at the same time. She's very talented! In fact, she can do both of those things and keep smiling for as long as he's laughing.

"Yes. He deserves some good luck one of these days." Non-Skrull meats is one of the best things about the Nexus, in her opinion.

The smiling can't quite last through talking about this. Sorry, Grandtain. "Yeah, I think I'm the only one with it. It's not--" She cuts herself off and takes a breath while she thinks about what she wants to tell him. "Mostly I was annoyed that I went through all that testing for very little reason. I didn't want to be there, and it was painful at times, and I didn't want to be a superhero or anything, but..." But she wanted the pain to mean something. She's not sure how to explain that without sounding like she's whining.
brave_heart_verity: (smirk)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-13 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
It's things like this that make him her favorite. The little things, the fact he's a good man even when it's not terribly important. "I guess that makes sense. I wouldn't have been any help in his public relations efforts, that's for sure. Can you imagine the faces I'd be making every time he opened his mouth?"

Because she can. And she almost regrets not having the chance.
brave_heart_verity: (coffee)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-13 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
"I doubt I'd have been invited back for a second time anyway." And Verity can take the hint that he's not going to talk about whatever's bothering him, so she'll drink her akhaccino instead.
brave_heart_verity: (nope)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity 2016-03-13 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
She'll tuck it back into her wallet, which goes back into her bag. Girls and their lack of pockets, right? "Not really. I mean, having the documentation helped me prove to people that I could do what I said I could do, but other than that, it was all on me. Which I didn't mind, I had some pretty specific requirements. But the curse is extremely marketable, I didn't need help. There were other people who could have used it more."

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-13 04:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-13 05:10 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-13 05:22 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-13 16:57 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-13 23:46 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 00:22 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 00:33 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 01:00 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 01:11 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 01:33 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 01:40 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 02:00 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 02:16 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 02:27 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 03:21 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 03:53 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 04:17 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 05:01 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 05:38 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-14 18:04 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-15 02:01 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-15 03:03 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-15 03:46 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-15 04:12 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-15 04:45 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] brave_heart_verity - 2016-03-15 07:52 (UTC) - Expand