I come up hard but that's okay

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

'Cause trouble man don't get in my way

The shield is found in the river by a salvage team. The man who finds it knows it should go right back to the Captain, but he can't help himself--he takes a picture of himself holding it, and snapchats it to his family and friends with the caption, "I believe in the shield."

It's reblogged hundreds of times. Then thousands. People start adding their own pictures, with homemade shields or Captain America memorabilia, captioning them things like "I still believe in the shield" and "I stand with the Captain."

The shield itself ends up at the Smithsonian, at the Captain America & the Howling Commandos exhibit. There's a note attached: "Please make sure this gets back to the Captain."

It does, of course. Of course it does.


Don't care about trouble, sugar, I'm moving down the line



In his hospital bed, Steve hears music.

Comments

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve sighs and rubs his eyes. "I don't know. I haven't thought ahead that far. I don't know how or where or what resources I'll have, or how dangerous it will be, or what sort of enemy I'll be facing or who else will be looking for him.

He leans closer to Orpheus, grimacing as the movement pulls on his healing wounds. "What I do know is that I have to find him. I owe him that. If you want to come with me, then come with me. If you don't, then please wait for me to come home."

[golden_lyre]

Orpheus sighs as well, moving to perch on the side of the bed, his hand curling around Steve's. "Of course you haven't thought that far ahead. Gods, Steve. Look at yourself. You almost died, and now you're just...running off again, after the man who did this to you, and you....

"You haven't even thought about me, about us. Hasn't even entered your mind."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve opens his mouth to answer, and then shuts it again. Orpheus has a point.

He says quietly, "Let me ask you something, then. If somehow Eurydice came back and you knew she was out there in the world, lost and broken and hunted, wouldn't you drop everything to find her?

"I know it's not quite the same--a best friend isn't as intense a relationship as a wife--but he's still my family. He's all I've got except for you."

[golden_lyre]

"Not quite the same?"

He stands, dropping Steve's hand, fingers scrubbing roughly through his hair. He paces for a moment, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"It's not a fair comparison, but you know what? I wouldn't. I wouldn't drop everything. I wouldn't drop you."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve lies back with a grimace. "I'm not dropping you, Orpheus."

[golden_lyre]

"You were going to. Just run off without me. I'm an afterthought in this situation."

He crosses his arms tightly over his chest. He needs a cigarette or a drink or both.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve runs his fingers over the coverlet. He can't deny it--he's been so focused on the Soldier, on Bucky, that Steve has given little thought to Orpheus aside from being glad he was safe from this mess.

Which turned out to not be quite true, but Steve will ponder that later.

He says quietly, "You're right. I haven't been thinking about you, and I'm sorry.".

[golden_lyre]

Orpheus grimaces.

"Do you even want me with you?" he asks quietly, not able to look at Steve.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Orpheus," Steve says, surprised, "of course I do. I love you."

[golden_lyre]

"I know that you love me," Orpheus answers with a sigh. "But you've said that I should come if I want to, like I would be something you have to...deal with. You haven't said that you want me there. You haven't...thought of me at all," he finishes with a frown, knowing he's repeating himself.

"I would never do that to you," he adds, voice low.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"And all those times you said you'd do something I asked you to 'if you remembered to', that was really putting me first," Steve retorts, then closes his eyes and exhales.

"I'm sorry. That's not--that's not the point. Orpheus, I have no plan right now. I have no idea how I'm going to go about this or how dangerous it's going to be, or even where I'm going to go. If you'd be safer waiting for me here or even in the bar or in your own world, then of course I'd rather you were there instead of being put in harm's way. But I have no idea what I'm going to be facing yet. I just don't know."

He adds quietly, "Do you want to come with me?"

[golden_lyre]

"And when was the last time I said that?" Orpheus snaps.

He turns around a moment to take a deep breath, calm himself. His hand rubs over the back of his neck.

"Of course I would. Of course I want to. I can't.... You have no idea what it was like waiting in the bar. I can't do that again. I don't care about the danger. I don't have a reason to, and you need to stop thinking you have to protect me from your life."

He turns again, looking hard at Steve. "I understand that you're going into this blind, but you don't have to go into it alone. You shouldn't want to."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"A long time ago," Steve says without heat.

"All right, then. Once I figure out some kind of plan, we'll go. We'll follow the trail and see where it takes us."

[golden_lyre]

Orpheus is still frowning, brow furrowed, but he moves back toward the bed.

"Because you want me there or because I'm making a fuss?"

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Because I want you there," Steve says. "Because I want you by my side."

[golden_lyre]

"Okay," Orpheus says, swallowing hard. "Okay."

He perches on the bed again, curling his fingers around Steve's and bending to kiss his forehead gently.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve closes his eyes and exhales as Orpheus kisses him. The heightened emotions of this exchange have left him exhausted.

"Get in this bed with me already, would you?" he says gruffly.

[golden_lyre]

"I don't want to hurt you," Orpheus says, but he shifts anyway to settle in next to Steve, curling an arm loosely across his hips.


[ooc: I'm heading out for the day.]

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"I just want you close to me," Steve replies, and leans his head against Orpheus's chest with a contented sigh.


[ooc: Shall we call this one finished?]

[golden_lyre]

[ooc: Sounds good.]