Something in Common (for boldygoing )

[juststeverogers]

Steve's had a quiet set of holidays with his Pokemon in his small Nexus apartment but with the New Year over and done with things are picking up again. He's resumed his house hunting with gusto, spurred on by some advice he'd received from fellow denizens during the Yule party he attended nearly a month ago now.

Today, however, Steve's got the apartment cleared and training equipment set up again. Bucky's laid claim to the couch. It's too cold lately for him to get outside and stretch his wings as much as he'd like. Ethel's drug her bed over next to the couch to keep the braviary company. Only Sarah's overly active, running arouns Steve's feet in circles. Are they going to go running? IS he going to do inside training? Both?! Who knows?!

She positively jumps at the knock at the door.

"Grow grow grow!!!" OH BOY are there friends over? Steve. Steve! There's someone at the door!

"I heard it, already!" Steve laughs as he pulls the door open. "Hey there."

Comments

[juststeverogers]

"It wasn't pleasant. But I don't remember much of it. I was sort of dying at the time."

The only reason Khan's attack hadn't instantly killed him was because he hadn't considered Steve Rogers to be a threat. He'd only attacked the man at all for being the one to carry the holo transmitter Ghost had made to distract Khan and get him out into the open.

It wouldn't be the first time or the last he's nearly died for his beliefs, friends, and world. Steve doesn't regret the choice, even if sometimes he sees those pictures. Those sketches.

"Sometimes I don't feel like I'm me. This body isn't mine, you know? It's difficult to explain. It's one of the reasons I train so much. I always feel like I'm trying to adjust to someone else's reach."

[boldygoing]

Dying. Yet another thing that Jim wishes he didn't know as well as he does, the source of countless nightmares over the past year, even before the whole Halloween clusterfuck. But Steve seems like he's handling it okay, enough that he can talk about it a little anyway. Not that Jim is eager to press him for the details. That kind of shit is strictly volunteer-only, and for damn good reason.

There's a lot about Khan's invasion that Jim still doesn't know and probably never will, but honestly, he's kind of fine with that. He's seen what one Augment is capable of already; his imagination can do the rest, thanks very much. No need to pry into someone else's trauma just to get confirmation of shit he's already guessed at, not unless it ever becomes tactically relevant, and he hopes to God it never is again.

Moving on is a small mercy. Jim may not have any personal experience with the kind of dysphoria Steve is talking about, but it's not hard to grasp the idea. The guy basically doubled in size overnight, it'd be more a surprise if that didn't mess with his head a bit. "Muscle memory biting you in the ass, huh. You ever forget how strong you are now?" he asks as he seeks out the wrist tape and begins wrapping his hands.

[juststeverogers]

"Not so much anymore. When it first happened though..."

Steve trails off with a furrow of his brow and focuses instead on setting up the punching bag in the corner of the room like it had been before. There were a few times he really hurt people without meaning to. Acting and working the USO might not have been what he wanted out of the army, but it might have done a lot of good. Letting him get used to his new body in Not a life or death environment.

"I broke a lot of stuff without meaning to." He settles on finally, with a small embarrassed smile. "The worst was getting stuck though. I couldn't slip around the way I used to and I wouldn't think. End up getting myself wedged somewhere stupid. God, Peggy laughed at me so much."

[boldygoing]

The mental image of Steve getting himself stuck in an awkward place like a cat trapping itself behind a bookshelf is enough to startle a laugh out of Jim. "I hope she didn't take too many pictures of you." They had photography back then, right?