six_word_stories | (no subject)

I said 'Good job out there, tonight.'

[Making no effort to move out of the doorway to the rooftop access.]

[Well at least he turns to look at the guy, even if it's a skeptical look, like he's not sure how to take it. He's busy getting all his shit back together so he can move on. Get back to the safe house while he's still got the opening.]

Let me guess what comes next. You appreciate the help but you don't think I'm the right fit for your little team. That sound about right?

Nah. Just, thanks for helping out.

[His smile is sincere.]

Things would have been a lot worse without you. You saved a lot of lives tonight.

[The look Steve gets is no less suspicious for the clarification. Sure, he's got enough of a bead on the guy now to figure it's sincere enough, but that doesn't stop the feeling that there's another shoe somewhere waiting to drop. He's too used to the usual line, the one where he's a murderer and needs to be stopped, that he needs to quit his methods and find a different hobby before somebody decides it for him. Real thanks, at least from the guys who run around in their PJs, well that's gonna take some getting used to.

He packs another part away and sits back on his heels, looking for a better answer. Turning the words over and getting them lined up just right before he answers.]

You draw the short straw to come over here and tell me that, or you pick it yourself?

[People forget that Captain America is a soldier, first and foremost. That he's killed on the front lines. That he continues to take lives when he has to, in order to protect innocent lives.

Or Avenge Them.

It's not his preferred plan of action, but neither is he some idyllic perfect protector of justice, truth, and the American Way.]

I chose to. Really so hard to believe?

Now, I don't know about you but I'm starving. Know any good takeout still open this late?

[He's silent for a few long moments while he weighs it over in his head, but...hey, he's got a point. If there'd be anybody who'd choose to do it, it would probably be the guy with the shield. So instead of protesting any further, he just grunts in something like acceptance, packing the rest of it away and stashing it to pick up later. Nobody's going to be up here for a few hours anyway, he's got time to come back if he plays things right.]

There's a cheap burger place around the corner.

You're blocking the air vent shaft cover.

[ Ignore the girl in all blue and wearing gloves ok? ]

[He doesn't look over, not at first, just keeps on keeping on. Keeping watch.]

Yeah? What. You tryin' to break in or somethin'?

I locked myself out.

[ It's utterly flat. ]

[Bland and unimpressed.]

Bullshit. Try again.

[ She rolls her eyes, all but screaming 'fiiiiiiiine'. ]

There's a clinic inside. They have a supply of diapers and formula. The kid needs diapers and formula.

I'm just wondering what you're doing up here, man.

Enjoyin' the scenery.

[Yeah, right. With duffel bags (yes, plural) on the ground next to him, that's pretty clearly not it.]

Kinda well-prepared for scenery.

Or you're the oldest boy scout I've ever seen.

[It gets a chuckle out of him. It's low and bitter, but still.]

Guess that ain't too far from the mark. Ain't no boy scout, but they're not the only ones who like to be prepared.

[ The bags get another appraising look. ]

If that's the prep, it looks like the kind of party I always end up crashing.

So you here to crash, then?

[That definitely starts up some of his ~~paranoia~~ suspicion.]

[ He points towards one of the windows. ]

Got some business with one of the guests of honor.

[It prompts a chuckle, at least, even if the suspicion doesn't edge down any.]

You too, huh?

[Huh.]

Just came out here to smoke.

[Optimally on the other side of the roof. Alone.]

[He spares enough attention to look the kid over before deciding he's not a threat, then returns to watching the city below.]

Don't let me stop you, plenty of room up here.

[Only everything is a threat. Especially a rough-looking guy hanging on a rooftop. He'll just — assess the situation.]

Uh-huh.

[Keeping his distance enough to maintain that 'not a threat' status.]

You gonna jump?

[The question gets a little more attention, a snap of the head that's a little faster than he means, and a furrowed brow, like he's trying to trace the kid's thought process, but...yeah, he guesses he could see how that might be a conclusion. He looks back over towards the city and lets out a humorless laugh, like the kid told a joke he probably didn't mean to, and shakes his head.]

Nah. Don't wanna give anybody the satisfaction. Just enjoyin' the view. Good place to think.

[He's been quietly lurking in the shadows of the building for a few minutes, but when Frank calls him out, he comes over to perch nearby.]

I haven't gotten a chance to thank you. For having my back the other night.

[There's nothing below that needs his attention immediately, he's just doing recon tonight. Won't be another two until he's got a solid enough grip on the group's schedule to move. So he turns enough to regard Red properly, or at least enough, even if he stays where he is by the edge.]

Didn't need to. Saw you could use a hand; we may not see eye to eye on much, doesn't mean I'm gonna let you drown.

All the same... thanks. I was sure I was a goner there, for a few minutes.

[He's already foiled a couple of muggings tonight--nothing serious. The Hand has retreated underground for now, but being out here every night is the only bit of normalcy left in Matt's life at the moment.]

You up here working?

[He grunts in answer, but that's probably answer enough, since he doesn't correct him.]

Not the kind you're gonna lecture me about.

[He crouches down to rifle around in the duffel bag nearby to dig out his thermos. If he's going to be interrupted for a chat he might as well keep caffeinated while he's at it.]

Well shit. He hadn't actually realized there was already someone lurking up here until he'd landed.

"Uh, caw caw?" It wasn't even a very good attempt at a crow noise, he could definitely do better.

It's fine, most people don't notice Frank anyway, at least not unless he wants them to. Even if they've got perfect vision. Granted, he wasn't expecting anybody else to show up, let alone the drop to the rooftop, but still.

He turns to look where the sound, and now words, came from, being sure to kick the surveillance stuff out of the way a little so he's not so obvious.

"You're not a damn bird, crows don't say 'caw'. Come on out."

"Some of them do." He replied, sounding more matter-of-fact and less petulant, though there might have been a little of that there, too, though really it was his own fault, "So, this is the part where I'd usually say 'don't freak out', but that never works, you're gonna freak out because everybody does, all I ask is that you keep it contained."

That said, he did step out to where he was more visible, wings settling down against his shoulders, twitching a little, ready to take off again at a moment's notice if he had to.

Frank might have freaked out more if he hadn't already figured out he now existed in a world where all kinds of shit was 'normal'. Guys in iron suits who flew around cities blowing shit apart, guys who grew to the size of a damn bus, or shrunk down to the size of a flea. Guys who ran around calling themselves the God of Thunder and were taken seriously because of a giant hammer that called lightning. Women who could punch a hole through a cement wall and men who were literally indestructible. A world where a kid had spider powers and mutants weren't just some weird but ultimately useless thing you learned about in science class.

In the grand scheme of things, a kid who had a set of wings on his back was just another shock story on the news. So he just gave him a bland look, taking in kid and feathers, and grunted in acceptance before getting back to his surveillance.

"Crows caw. They don't say 'caw'. So what are you, one of those x-guys?"

"Nope. Been tested and everything." This was, as point of fact, true, at least in his case there was no X-Gene present, he didn't know about the rest of the Flock, as he hadn't had extensive contact with them in recent years, something to keep them all safe.

"And I stand by what I said, some crows do, there's a pair of them near my building that do." He shrugged, scratching the back of his neck before squinting skyward -not that he could see anything there, it was just habit- as if he were thinking over encounters with the pair, "Honestly I'm pretty sure they're mocking me, but they're definitely saying it, not just crowing."

"You hear what you hear, I guess," he rumbles in something like a conversational tone, eyes still trained on the building across the way; the kid's probably not much of a threat, no reason to stare him down right now unless he starts getting curious.

"Probably just jealous you got bigger wings," he adds dryly.

"Could be." He shrugged one shoulder, "Might be they're just trying to figure out what the hell this huge fuck-off owl is doing out during the day, and where my tail is so they can pull it."

A quiet snort, "Y'know, crows." It was entirely possible, even probable, that he didn't know, considering that most people didn't, not the same way a person who was technically related to the things would.

Nothing you just look a little uh.... rough.

How's the other guy?

[He shrugs, wiping a hand across his face where he feels something potentially dripping, not that he bothers to investigate much after that. He's not that bad off, that's all that matters really.]

Didn't get off as easy as I did.

[There's a small smirk to accompany the words.]

(no subject)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Iggyyyyyy <3

/GASP! Someone who knows who he is!

he is the bestttttt I am so pleased to see Maximum Ride kids around c:

This one's a bit AU, but essentially still 'I can feel colors with my fingers' Iggy

woo! any Iggy is good Iggy

no subject

no subject

no subject