juststeverogers | The First Commission (Open, tagging Verity)

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The First Commission (Open, tagging Verity)

Steve has had some time to adjust to his new life in the Nexus. His suit he arrived in is hanging neatly on the front door to his hotel room, which sways when he pulls the door open to welcome his first official guest to his temporary home.

Aside from the art supplies taking up the large workdesk (covered in newspaper, he's careful not to mess up the nice furniture in this place) the room is rather well kept.

"Come on in, I've got it all ready to go."

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Aw, no, no no no don't be a sad Steve. She did not mean to bring that memory up, and winces when she realizes. "I... I meant the one for Schön, dear. We were talking about it at the party? You don't have to, but I was wondering if you'd had any ideas."

"Oh, yeah. The one for Schon. I should get to work on that if I'm going to ask him for help finding a place to live." Getting better is going to have to take priority first, because Steve doesn't even feel like sitting up straight, let alone sketching out painting ideas.

He flips through his sketchbook, staring down at the pages listlessly while he sinks deep into thought.

Sounds like quitter's talk, ya punk. You giving up that easy?

"I haven't given it much thought since the party." Steve starts again abruptly, shutting his sketchbook and twisting to meet Verity's gaze. "What did you say he liked?"

*Samus is keeping an ear out, but has no real suggestions to offer. Verity knows the broker better than she does, after all.*

*Die, germs, die!*

Samus just really likes killing things, doesn't she?

Verity won't press. While he's quiet she is too, helping the housekeeper make the bed and getting it ready for Steve. Those pillows are being fluffed with love.

"He likes bright colors. Not neon bright, but... rich. Intense colors. And intricate patterns. He would love the peony you painted for me. He might try and fight me for it." That's a joke, Steve. Please, give her a sympathy laugh. "You know those Dutch still lifes? He likes that sort of thing. But maybe, you'd been thinking autumnal, a big vase of branches with different color leaves instead of flowers? Or is that silly?"

She's quite nervous that it's a very silly idea, and that it's rude to even make suggestions.

"Right! Because it's fall." Steve nods and coughs deeply, grateful to feel things loosening up but also feeling really gross because of it.

"...Mm ah!" He bolts upright and nearly falls out of the chair scrambling for a pencil. His sketchbook goes toppling to the floor along with the blanket.

"What if I had them coming out of a carved pumpkin?"

*She has a certain set of skills, acquired over a very long career. And right now, she's using them to clean a bathroom.*

Ver blinks in surprise when Steve jumps up. A quick word to the housekeeper gets the woman heading out; Ver can finish the bed later. "That would be cute," she agrees, although her tone suggests she's fighting the urge to tell him to sit down.

She can't fight the instinct to pick up behind him; when he comes back to his chair she's got his sketchbook and blanket waiting. "Maybe having to relax for a few days isn't so bad?"

Don't think PreCap is going to let you get out of taking credit here, Verity. He has that smile. Usually reserved for busting heads and giving orders. It is the smile of a man who knows what he's doing.

...Promptly interrupted by another coughing fit that turns into very weak wheezing.

He's trying, bless him.

*And Samus is back. She has a question, but she'll wait until he's done coughing to ask it.*

Steve, is the air in here too dry for you?

...oh god, that smile. She's not prepared for the smile. Nobody is ever prepared for the smile. How come it didn't work on the girls back home? Because she's so not into him that way and her knees are still a little wobbly now.

Followup question: "Do you need your inhaler?"

Yeah the inhaler is probably a good idea. Spirit is willing, body not so much.

"I..." Steve clears his throat after a minute. "Felt like things were starting to loosen a bit, but then it just started dripping and irritating my throat. Guess I overdid it."

Aww man, he needs to sit back down. He feels like he just ran up a flight of stairs. Which is a lot, for him.

It's alright. It's going to take some time to get back to what you're used to. I know how tempting it is to push yourself to go faster.

*She offers him a sidelong smirk as she digs out and fills a vaporizer.*

You should see how restless I get when I'm healing from something.

"This is sometimes the part that sucks worst," she agrees before looking to Samus. "I'm guessing you brought a humidifier. Warm or cool mist? Do I fill it from the tap, or does it need filtered water?"

Yeah, if Steve's not declining, she's just going to set it up now. It's for the best.

"But what I was trying to say--" Steve gets back on topic and will not be dissuaded by his body's traitorous actions.

"--Is that you're a genius for coming up with the ideas for Schon's painting. It will be a great way to thank him for the party, as well as give him something decorative to enjoy. You're better at thinking like an artist than I am!"

He gives Samus a look here that clearly says 'back me up here'.

You know what you like, and you've got good taste and good ideas.

*Which is, really, the heart of appreciating art--at least in Samus' way of thinking. Gesturing to the device she's filling, she adds an explanation for Verity.*

This is a vaporizer, you can fill it from the tap. Check the filter here every few days for mineral deposits and the like--just rinse those out. It can do warm or cool mist, warm's probably the better idea for now, just set this slider. And... on.

*Set on the nightstand, the little device hums softly, a thin cloud of warm mist wafting from its top.*

What she's got is a horrible case of the blushing. So much blushing!

"Well, but, Steve asked me for ideas a week ago and that's all I came up with," she protests, weakly. "I'm glad you like it."

Being artistic is nothing anyone's ever accused her of. She doesn't know what to do!

Edited 2015-11-12 04:35 (UTC)

At least she's not arguing. Steve has a pencil and his sketchbook now that he's settled back into his chair and blanket ensemble.

"...Samus? I know I can't start training yet, but...you wouldn't by chance have anything I could start reading in the meantime would you?" Verity's already given him ideas for sketches, but Steve doesn't think that alone is going to keep him from going batty if he has to spend another week recuperating.

*She thinks about it for a moment.*

I can think of a few things it'd be a good idea to read, yes. You're still sure you want to be a soldier when you get home?

Verity will try not to look too interested in his answer while she finishes tidying up the room. She assumes it's a yes, that it will always be a yes, but she wouldn't be upset if he changed his mind someday. He's not a soldier, he's a leader.

He just needs to learn that.

"Absolutely. Not gonna stop trying until they take me." His jaw and mind are set on this. Hell, his heart is set on this. Even if Bucky wasn't already in, Steve would want to do this.

Protect and serve.

He knows this is what he's meant for.

"...I don't care about whatever other me is doing or has done. This isn't about obligation or fulfilling a destiny or anything like that. I want to do this."

Then I'll start you with something from Earth, to clear out some of that propaganda you've been fed on.

*Digging a datapad from one of the satchels, she queues up a file before handing it to Steve.*

[Sun Tzu]
[The Art of War]

"You are who you are, Steve. We know that."

Yes, really, she does understand that. She had a painful crash course in alternate timelines and the people from them long before she ever saw the Nexus.

Considering someone was asking him if he was trying to die earlier, he feels the point needs to be made. He can sketch and protect his country. Nothing wrong with that.

Except--

"What is this?" Grandpa Rogers form the 40s has not one clue how to use the data pad. Or the phone thing verity got him.

*In the intervening time, he'd also heard the government he wanted to fight for was going to wipe two cities off the map. It would be nothing to be ashamed of, if he had some second thoughts.*

Oh, sorry. That's a datapad. If your sketch pad, there, could fit a library in it, it'd be like that.

*She takes a moment to show him the basic functions of the reader program it's in at the moment--turn pages, scroll, zoom in or out. She'll save explaining some of its other capabilities for another time, assuming he doesn't just figure them out for himself through trial and error.*

Ver listens to the explanation without interruption, in-between making sure the room is ready for him and discreetly checking his medicine cabinet. It may be time to make a pharmacy run for the basics.

"It's like my phone," Ver explains when Samus is done. "The programs respond to the same kinds of input, I mean. Once you can use one, you can probably use the other pretty easily."

She's got to learn better ways to phrase things.

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