Merry Christmas!

[juststeverogers]

It took an awful lot of work to track down everyone and get their gifts in order, but Steve's going to be running around the Nexus giving out presents to all of his friends. Or inviting them over to his apartment. Whatever works for them!




((Stealing verity's setup--please go to the top level for your character and begin commenting as you like. Feel free to make Steve work to find you, he's got gifts for you all!))

Comments

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow laughs at Steve's threats of punches, but he's quickly serious by the time it comes to presents! He spins his satchel around so that it covers his chest, and momentarily he is decent.

Up in the room he takes a seat and sniffs the contents of the thermos, but mostly he's distracted by the windows in this place. "I coulda carried you up, man," he says, and though he means it honestly and humbly it's probably not too good for Steve's self-esteem.

Next he sets his satchel in his lap and opens the top flap. First things first, he's got to get his shirt on. Just a white tanktop for now. The next things he brings out are a box with red and green striping and some kind of soft, tube-shaped gift wrapped in white paper.

"This place is really swell, Steve. Your decorations are real pleasant. You do it all yourself?"

[juststeverogers]

"Well, yes, but then I wouldn't have gotten my exercise." Also that would have been ten kinds of embarrassing. Steve is not that weak.

The whole apartment has a pine tree smell, but since the tiny tree in the corner is very obviously fake, the smell once investigated is coming from a candle alit on the coffee table.

"Do you take anything in your coffee?" Steve pokes his head out form the kitchen with a smile.

[westfallcorndog]

A scented candle, what an exotic concept! Harrow does the adult thing and picks it up, tilts it slightly in all directions, and watches as the melted wax rolls around inside the container.

He looks up curiously at Steve's question. "What kindsa things do folks put in coffee in Brooklyn? I only ever had it in the army, and we only ever drank it black. Can I try it however you drink it?" He smiles very slightly but quickly turns back to the candle. Wouldn't want Steve to think he's ignorant of the ways of the world(s), after all.

[juststeverogers]

Steve drinks it black usually too, but with Harrow asking to try something new Steve will add a bit of cream to both of their mugs before bringing it out and handing one mug to Harrow.

Steve doesn't drink out of his right away, wrapping his bony hands around the mug instead and warming his hands.

"Your gift is in the box on the table." Steve nods to it, and it's really a small but neatly wrapped brown paper box, with blue twine tied into a bow. "Merry Christmas, Harrowheart."

Inside of the box is a small crystal vial with a sapphire blue liquid inside.

"The storeclerk told me it was a potion to increase magical potency. I..I wanted to get you something to help protect you, like the ring you got for me. To help you stay safe back in Azeroth."

Steve is so painfully cute

[westfallcorndog]

Steve got him... A mana potion...

Harrow rubs his hand over his mouth to hide his smile but quickly decides that Steve ought to see just how much this amuses him.

"Steve, this is..." His cheeks start to tremble with the effort of maintaining such a huge grin, but he can't bring himself to stop.

It's so wrong. It's so useless. It's...

"Perfect!"

He clasps his gift to his chest and looks down at his hands as if the little vial hidden there holds the key to all magic.

"I'll save it for a special occasion, and when it saves my hide I'll come right back here and tell you all about it."

I couldn't not :D

[juststeverogers]

"Really?" Steve laughs, clearly relieved that he got the right thing. "I'm glad. I couldn't afford the big magical items she had for sale, but she assured me this would help magic users."

He's so proud of himself for being a smart shopper.

"Hopefully you won't need it." Steve nods in agreement. "But if you do, then it's there."

[westfallcorndog]

"Well, heck, now the gifts I got you don't look so good!"

The first thing he hands over is the soft tube-shaped gift. The paper it's wrapped in looks like it would be best-suited to cover a sandwich, but whatever is inside feels like cloth.

And it is! It's a t-shirt, hopefully not too large considering it's not an adult size cut. Bright white, casual, and proudly boasting the slogan 'I <3 NY'

Harrow waits wide-eyed and eagerly with his cup in his hands for Steve's reaction.

[juststeverogers]

Considering this logo didn't get used until 1977, it is not cliche or familiar at all to Steve. Instead he studies the shirt carefully.

"I...less than..no, it's a heart. I heart--love! I love New York!" He's grinning huge now, and hugs it to his chest with a laugh.

"Where did you even get this? It's so clever!" And somewhere in the Nexus, Verity is groaning.

[westfallcorndog]

SUCCESS! That or Steve is a very good liar. Considering the unlikelihood of that second, Harrow's going to have to assume he likes it. He shimmies his shoulders proudly and takes a victory gulp of coffee.

"There's all sorts of markets around here! I went wanderin' in the Commercial district and found a place fulla Earth souvenirs! I did some research on my phone and found out that's the official shirt of New York! I got one for Verity, but hers is black, and I got one for me, too. We don't all gotta wear 'em at the same time, but it might be fun if we did some day."

Needless to say, he's extremely pleased.

"And this coffee with cream, by the way? Very tasty. Kinda... Soft? Sweet. Don't think it'd wake a man up, but it's a nice drink for stayin' home with a pal."

[juststeverogers]

"You can put sugar in it too, but I prefer to drink mine without." He's had it black for too many years to really be able to do sweet drinks overmuch. What started as being too poor for anything else became a taste he'd grown into.

"Just a sec." Steve sets his coffee down on the table and wanders off toward his bed in one corner of the studio apartment. He shucks his hoodie and pulls off his button up shirt before shimmying into his new tshirt and pulling his hoodie back on for warmth.

"It fits!"

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow throws his arms up in victory! Conveniently, he can still drink his coffee with his hands.

"I think this is the first time I got clothes for someone and it worked. Glad you like it, Steve."

He beckons him back over with his hands and pushes the second gift, a wrapped box, toward Steve. And inside that gift is...

An icy figurine! But not just any figurine: It's a carving of the Statue of Liberty! She's about five inches tall, which is the perfect height for her face to be carved in small detail without looking too poorly-crafted. Her crown is very slightly off-kilter, and her robe's details are much more simplified than in real life, but it's undeniably her. And though she appears to be made of solid ice there's a swirling blue fog within that emits a small glow in her heart and the flame she holds. While it would never work as a real light, it could be a soothing nightlight.

"You don't gotta worry about her meltin'. She's got magic in her, she's here to stay."

[juststeverogers]

"Well, it's kind of hard for me not to fit into something." Steve admits. "But it's not super big on me, which is always a plus." He grins and comes back over to the couch to retreive his coffee.

And a second gift for Steve? Oh goodness he was not expecting that!

When he gets it unwrapped Steve has to suck in a breath to stop himself from any number of emotions bubbling up.

"Harrow...this is beautiful. Thank you, so much." He sounds awestruck by it, but does recoil after touching her until Harrow confides that she won't melt. "Did you make this? It's so well done..."

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow rubs his cheek and the back of his neck. "Heck, Steve, it wasn't nothin'. I got all the time in the world, and for the first time since I left my family's farm I can spend it makin' things rather than destroyin' 'em. I've been takin' lessons from a lady like myself who makes sculptures like these. It's a little easier than it looks with the magic and all, but I figured you'd get a kick outta it."

With a lopsided grin and a nod at the statue he adds, "She's all about justice and freedom and open arms. I think you two got a lot in common. I figured she'd make a nice girlfriend for ya."

He starts to laugh but suddenly he's struck by a memory! He leans in and quickly says, "I met a lady who said she'd go on a date with you! Shoot, but I didn't have a phone and I never got her number! And you were livin' in that hotel! Shoot, Steve... I gotta find her again! She was a pretty red-head lady with a warrior's eyes. She said you sounded sweet and cute as all get-out." Did she say that? Is that a lie, or a false memory? Well, it can't be a total lie, Steve is both of those things.

I love that icon

[juststeverogers]

"You're a great artist." And he means it. If sculpting is his calling then Steve hopes Harrow will continue to create as much as he can. Little Miss Liberty gets the prominent showing position at the center of the coffee table.

He's gonna show her off to everyone, Harrow.

"I...wait, what? You set me up on a date with a lady you don't even know the name of?" Is Harrow joking? Is she alive? That's an important question when you're friends with a death knight.

:D

[westfallcorndog]

"Oh, I know her name! It's Nat! She seemed very normal and friendly. She smiled a lot, and that was nice. I ain't seen her since. I hope she didn't go back home and can't find her way back here. Wouldn't that just be our luck?"

[juststeverogers]

Steve doesn't know anyone named Nat. He wonders if Verity knows who harrow is talking about.

"Well, if you see her again, I wouldn't say no to meeting any friend of yours." Steve doesn't expect anything to come of it, but helping Harrow make new friends can't be bad, can it?

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow hurriedly gulps down the rest of his coffee and takes his cup to the kitchen area, where he quickly washes it out. It wouldn't be fair to make Steve do all the cleaning up, after all.

"I'll keep my eye open for her. If I see her again I'll tell her where you live. So, if you see any pretty ladies at your door, they aren't lost."

He winks, finger-guns, and heads for the door.

"I love the mana potion, man. I'll see you 'round. And... Steve? Merry First Christmas in the Nexus."