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open post (steve rogers)
steve rogers / captain america open post.
※ looking for a thread with an all-american super soldier?
※ respond with any character, canonmate or otherwise, and a prompt.
※ open to any format (prose, brackets, commentspam).
※ open to any canonpoint (within marvel cinematic universe).
※ if you don't have any prompt ideas, feel free to throw the ball into my court!
※ you can always refer to the random scenario meme for inspiration.
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Each member requires a different kind of training, but most important is that they all learn how to work together, complementing their different skillsets instead of getting in each other's way. Group training sessions are more common than one-on-one lessons for that reason. The first iteration of the Avengers hadn't really had the chance to train together like this, instead learning the hard way during their first battle together and then their search for the scepter later on.
Steve's glad for the opportunity. It keeps him busy. It keeps him from thinking about the parts of his life that still don't fit together, or the opportunities that he's had to accept he'll never have. He's a good leader, that much he can say about himself now without shying away from the words, and focusing on his new team has proved to be a good distraction.
He and Sam ran out of leads for Bucky's whereabouts months ago. Both of them still keep an eye out, but every HYDRA base they know of has been searched and they've found nothing. Bucky isn't ready to see him again. Maybe he never will be. Steve can only hope that he's still alive out there somewhere, that he isn't hurt or captured or out of his mind with the guilt of what he'd been made to do.
The thing is, he knows what it's like, to know that the person closest to you in all the world is gone. He'd thought Bucky was dead for over a year before learning the truth (which is in some ways worse), and so he has a modicum of an idea of what Wanda is dealing with. Except that Pietro had been here twin, they'd only had each other since childhood, and there's a kind of bond there that even Steve's friendship with Bucky can't match.
She doesn't usually let it show, especially not during training, but sometimes the anger and grief can be seen in the red waves of her power that she lets out to devastating effect. Wanda has an impressive amount of control, she's never hurt anyone she didn't mean to, but Steve has noticed the way she behaves outside of their work.
Like now. She's standing in the center of a crowded room, the lobby of their training facility, and yet it's like she isn't there at all. She's not present. She barely notices the people who walk around her, and while she's staring forward, Steve doubts that she's looking at anything in particular. Kind of like Natasha and the wall. All of them are carrying their wounds and dealing with them in their own ways, but as team leader it's Steve's job to make sure that everyone is holding up well enough that they'll be able to stand and fight when the next disaster hits.
He steps up to Wanda, dipping his head down to meet her eyes. It's been raining for the past few days, and Steve focuses on the sound of the water hitting the roof instead of the hustle and bustle around them.
"Earth to Wanda." He says it kindly, taking a look around them before he moves a step closer. "You wanna move somewhere quieter?" It occurs to him, that she can see into the minds of everyone around them. That's got to get exhausting after a while, even if she is able to control it or turn it off.
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All she could think about is what good this place could have done her, done them, if she were whole. If her other half had not been ripped away from her as they fought to save their home.
There's a delay before she finally comes to attention, turning her head slowly to face Steve as he speaks to her, his voice low, even, kind. He's patient, and she appreciates that, even if she has yet to really trust him. It's hard to trust any of them-- but she's resolved to try, at least with him. He's earned the attempt, at the very least.
"Quieter?"
She had been letting the thoughts and worries of those that surrounded her wash over her, a low and steady din of chatter that helped to drown out her own thoughts. Now she shut them all out at once, slamming her mental walls up so quickly that it was almost deafening in how very quiet it suddenly became, even with the shuffle of feet and rustle of actual conversation moving past them. She exhales slowly and her shoulders drop, followed by a single nod.
"Yes. Perhaps-- quiet would be good."
It had been quiet when she'd first found her way to the lobby. She's not quite sure when that had changed, as distant and unfocused as she was.
let me know if this was too much movement at once/if you want me to cut it down
Trust is something that they'll all have to build brick by brick during their work together. It won't really be tested until this new team makes it out into the field, but there had been some tension at first. He and Wanda had started off on opposite sides before she joined them, for instance, and Steve had vehemently opposed the creation of Vision, although there appears to be no hard feelings among them now. Vision isn't one to hold a grudge.
Besides, Steve maintains that he'd been well within his right to take issue with Stark trying to make yet another AI when the first one had tried to commit mass genocide, but that's all water under the bridge at this point, isn't it? Stark is off doing whatever he's doing and Steve's got his team.
Including Wanda. All of a sudden she shifts from faraway to in the present, alert and focused on him. Steve's not sure where she'd gone, but it's probably nowhere she should stay for too long. She accepts his offer and he nods.
"All right, come with me."
Without another word, he heads down toward the elevators and takes them up to the floor that holds all of their rooms. It's midday, so the floor is fairly quiet, which means that only a few people are around to offer greetings before they reach Steve's quarters. He opens up the door and waves her inside.
The room is sizable (bigger than Steve needs, but with Stark behind the construction, of course he'd been lavish about it) but neatly kept, and he motions for Wanda to take a seat on the couch. Maybe it's about time that they spent some time together while off the clock.
He sits down in a chair across from her and leans forward, bracing his elbows on his thighs. "Is that better?"
no this was perfect I am just terrible :c feel free to drop this, I know it's super old!
She nods when he asks after her, hands folded in her lap, shoulders slumped forward as she allows herself to relax-- forces it might be a better way of putting it, but the distance from so many active minds does help.
"Yes," she tells him honestly, and she's painfully aware of how little she's been engaging, even with him. "Thank you. I'm-- not certain how long I stood there." Given the opportunity to get lost in her own thoughts, to project herself somewhere else whether it was real or imagined, she knew she could easily fall out of touch for long stretches, likely too long for her own good. "Did you-- want to talk about something?"
It hasn't occurred to her that anyone might want to talk without needing something.
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"You're welcome to come here any time, if you need to." Granted, she has her own quarters that she could retreat to if she needed the seclusion, but Steve also realizes that just because someone doesn't want to be in a huge crowd of people doesn't mean that they want to be completely alone either.
Being alone probably only serves to remind Wanda that Pietro's no longer there.
Her question is a fair one, though Steve honestly hadn't thought about what to do once they got this far. He lifts one hand to run through his hair and then offers a shrug. "We don't have to talk if you don't want to. But if you do... I'm here to listen, too." Not just as a leader of the team, but also as a friend. He's not sure if they're close enough to call each other that yet, but there's only one way to make that happen.
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That surprises her, and she raises both eyebrows in question, as though wanting to be sure she'd heard correctly. Surely their team captain had better things to do; even if he meant for her to help herself to the quiet his quarters offered whenever she needed, it almost felt like a violation of privacy.
At the same time, she understands the gravity of what he offers, if he's certain. A place to escape that wasn't an empty or hollow reminder of what she'd lost was--
It was better than being alone with memories, in many ways.
She looks down at her hands a moment, frowning.
"I'm afraid I'm not fitting in so well just yet."
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He watches the way that she eyes her hands, well aware of what kind of power can be siphoned through them. Steve's never seen anything like it, but he's relieved that its wielder is firmly on their side now. And not just because of the firepower she packs, either.
She sounds a little bit like the new kid at school, and Steve gives her a sympathetic smile.
"It takes time. You're not really used to working with a team, but you did fine when we were fighting off Ultron. We've got a solid group of people now, it's just a matter of getting to know them."
Well, five people and one AI, but that's neither here nor there.
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"I am-- glad, that so many of our team were not present in Sokovia until the end-- or there in Seoul." It feels almost like having a clean slate, in some ways. "I feel like I have less to prove to them. There is-- less history."
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Because it's true, it hadn't been pretty, especially what she'd done to Bruce. Steve and Natasha have forgiven her for the dreams she'd shown them, but forcing Bruce to go berserk in a populated city, well...
Who knows where Bruce has gotten to these days. Natasha's been trying to track him down, but the guy knows how to hide. If he had been here, though, Wanda's initiation into the team would have been a lot shakier.
"There is that," Steve says after a pause. "I've made sure they all know that you're one-hundred-percent with us. You shouldn't have to worry about anyone being suspicious because of what happened before."
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Even with everything explained, even with Steve's assurances, she's not so vain as to let herself believe that his word will be enough. Maybe for some, it will be-- but there's also the fact that it's not only about proving herself to the rest of the team. It's going to be a long, long while before she forgives herself for what's been done, even if she'd believed her reasons at the time were just. It wasn't enough. She's not sure there's any reason that would be.
"I am glad you trust me. ... thank you."
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So the real difficult sell, if there is one, will be Rhodey. Especially given that he's Stark's best friend and Wanda doesn't have the best opinion of Tony even now. Still, they're going to have to make it work and they've all remained civil so far.
"Exactly. Just do your best, prove what you can do, and work hard, and everyone's gonna come around." He smiles in what he hopes is a disarming way. "Once we're going on missions and doing the real thing, trust starts to form pretty fast." Given that they're putting their lives in each other's hands...