open post (steve rogers)

[assembles]

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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[purrsonage]

[ The dust settles, and the world turns. Yesterday's enmities are today's scars, differences are fissures that are meant to be bridged, and found family is something to be treasured; if there's one thing that recent events have re-taught T'Challa, it's the simple adage of 'staying in touch'. Of strength in outreach.

In other words, Steve's return visit to Wakanda is well-timed.

Steve arrives along the border on a rare rainy day, where precipitation filters down from scattered clouds— almost like an afterthought— against a backdrop of an otherwise clear sky. Droplets of water weigh down the tips of tall grass, making them bend in what T'Challa perceives to be something near-performative; he has half an inclination to chide them on their forced reverence, even. No, neither him nor Captain Rogers needs them to bow, thank you very much.

He doesn't quite smile when he steps towards Steve (alone and unimpeded, which he prefers), but he warms. A handshake would be too formal, he thinks, so he offers to take one of his companion's travel bags instead. ]

The weather will clear shortly.

[ And yes, Bucky is alright. He says as much with the brief once-over he spares for his visitor, and the faint uptick of his lips.

(he wonders— if Erik Stevens had stayed N'Jadaka, if his father hadn't razed the path that could have bound them together in family and solidarity, would he and his cousin have been like Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes? always enduring, despite everything?

it's pointless to speculate, but T'Challa has nothing but respect for these hypothetical bonds.) ]

You look well. [ 'For someone who's going to have to stay under the radar for the next few months'. ]

[assembles]

[ There's a certain sense of pressure, knowing that T'challa has come personally to greet him. The two of them had come to an understanding in the aftermath of all the chaos, after everything that happened in Siberia, and Steve doesn't think there's any way he can repay the king for his kindness.

Bucky had not played any part in T'chaka's death, but he had killed other fathers, other mothers, while under Hydra's control. There are some who would look at a person like that and see a lost cause, but instead T'challa had agreed to help.

Steve's got a hood pulled halfway over his head, but he barely seems to notice the rain. (He remembers running around Brooklyn, his clothes soaked, because he'd either been too stupid or too poor to buy an umbrella. He remembers the vicious colds he'd catch after, and how Bucky chided him, worry clear in his features, as he did his best to help him recover.) When T'challa reaches for one of his bags, Steve pauses for a moment, but ultimately hands it over. It would be rude to refuse, and he's still trying to figure out how to conduct himself around royalty.

At T'challa's reassurance about the weather, Steve shakes his head and waves him off. He really doesn't mind it. With all the hiding he's been doing, it feels somehow comforting to have the world around him doused in water like this, like another layer of cover. He knows that he's safe within Wakanda, and in fact, he's already looking forward to seeing the metropolis again. That moment when trees and grass give way to a lively city the likes of which he never could have imagined won't get old, no matter how many times he ends up visiting this place.

He looks well, apparently. Maybe T'challa is saying that as a kindness; Steve's been growing a beard, and he's not sure how he feels about it, necessary though it may be. ] Glad to hear it. [ If he's passing as halfway functional after the mess of the past few months, he'll take it. ] How have things been on your end?

[ It's not like any news has traveled out of Wakanda, not when most of the world doesn't even know it exists. ]

[purrsonage]

[ Now, after everything, T'Challa knows that even a good man can be elbows-deep in blood, knows that the measure of one's character comes from what one does— or chooses not to do— in the aftermath. With context, he understands now that Steve Rogers is very much like him: a man who, under no circumstances, can will himself to stop if there's something that needs doing.

Now they share the commonality of being once-dead and back again (and iced over, even), but T'Challa keeps that to himself. The only playfulness he betrays is a glint of his eyes, near-conspiratorial. ]

Busy.

[ Understatement. Slinging Steve's bag over one shoulder, he starts their journey from the border to the city proper, taking measured steps along rain-slicked grass.

He's wearing open-toed sandals. Shuri can rib him all he wants, but he likes the feeling of dew between his toes. ]

You must have heard that Wakanda has opened itself to the outside world. [ There's literally no way that this could've escaped Steve's notice, because, you know. Surprise!!! ] —Without compromising your friend, of course.

[ That's one thing that Agent Ross didn't press T'Challa on, thank god. T'Challa would prefer to like him, as opposed to the alternative. ]

[assembles]

[ Oh, Steve definitely knows that look. Between that and the one-word answer that T'challa gives him, he's certain that there's been a lot going on. They are pretty alike, as it turns out. ]

You'll have to get me up to speed later.

[ Although just as soon as he says that, T'challa tosses a different kind of bombshell at him. Being underground the way Steve is, he doesn't always have access to the news. He's switching out his phones so often, and most of them aren't even smart phones (something that had taken some getting used to), so he's woefully out of the loop in some ways. ]

Wow. Gotta say, I wasn't expecting that one.

[ Wakanda may no longer be the perfect hiding spot, but Steve keeps that thought to himself. T'challa needs to do what's best for his kingdom, after all. It's enough of a relief to hear that Bucky is still safe and sound. ]

So... I have your sister to thank?

[ He's only met Shuri briefly, but that was enough to realize he was fond of her. ]