(August Catch-All) The Things We Do

[unclesam]

CHARACTERS: Sam Wilson & You (Open + Closed Starters)
LOCATION: Various aboard the station
DATE: Immediately post mission + the days after.
CONTENT: Catch-all prompts for post mission feelings
WARNINGS: Will be added to Top Levels

[ Top Levels in comments:
Infirmary: angsty hurt people after returning from the mission
Mess Hall: the evening post mission, after the food delivery, alcohol is on the table
Simulation Room: the day after the mission, sam disappears and can be found zoned out in the simulation room
Training Room: hot dude working up a sweat while training, various days post mission
Lab and Tech Storage: redwing is the best boi, fight me (and Sam)
TBA: maybe closed starters for Bucky/Natasha?

If you'd like a closed starter or have a different kind of thread idea for which none of these setups work, feel free to hit me at inkcharm, Discord inkcharm#4573 or send me a PM. ]

Comments

[spoilers]

Absolutely.

[ She rests her hip against the table. ]

Are we drinking to anything in particular?

[ Mission success? Disappointing endings? Finally that's over? River, herself, isn't particular. She doesn't especially need a reason after the last few weeks. But it seems a fair question. ]

[unclesam]

How about to doin' good, and doin' better next time?

[ It's important to make sure they all understand they did an amazing job - findinga cure, enabling the people to take their city back and unearth the corruption and abuse of their rulers... it's damn good.

Don't mean he's not feeling wistful about how things ended. Sam would have preferred holding off on the orb a little while longer - staying there to help fix a few more things hey broke. ]

[spoilers]

[ River nods slowly. They had done what they could. In the end, the result may not have been the one they wanted, but they'd left things a little better than when they'd arrived. Some might say significantly better. ]

I can drink to that.

[ She offers another soft smile. ]

For a change, I'm not dreading a few weeks' quiet. I usually hate sitting still.

[unclesam]

[ Sam returns the smile, easy and companionable. It's one of his strengths - unless someone steps on his feet hard, he's good at seeming open, at being friendly. They could all use that sort of energy around, and he's happy to exude it while preparing their drinks with easy, practiced motions. ]

I hear you. Downtime's not usually my speed, but after all that... guess we can all be grateful for the breather.

[ And he pushes the finished drink to her, raising his own glass slightly. ]

[spoilers]

[ She watches him make the drinks, letting herself be temporarily distracted by the ritual of it, but it's a comfortable quiet. Taking the drink that's set in front of her, she lifts it with a smile, tipping it silently in his direction. ]

Yes. It was quite the mission.

[ Not her worst adventure, but not her best either. ]

I have a feeling we should have read the fine print before accepting these contracts.

[ Her tone is casual enough for it to be a joke, even if it isn't all that funny. ]

[unclesam]

[ The tone is certainly casual enough, and Sam responds with a flash of a smile that could seem just as casual. There's something wry to it though that speaks of more than just amusement. Yeah - it ain't all that funny. ]

Beginning to think making deals in your dream ain't all that, am I right?

[ He contemplates for a moment, then cocks an eyebrow. ]

So what do you make of it all?

[spoilers]

[ She chuckles, setting her drink down with a soft click. ]

Or your afterlife.

[ Not that there haven't been a few benefits. ]

I think they need our help or we wouldn't be here. I don't believe they mean us any direct harm. They want us cooperative. Once our mission's completed...your guess is as good as mine.

[unclesam]

[ Sam winces slightly at that. It's... still an uncomfortable thought, that some of the people here are technically dead. Not uncomfortable regarding their own existence, so much as the implication of what it means that this place has the power to bring them here. And potentially restore them back to life, too.

If this turns out to be some Infinity Stones related shit, Sam won't be surprised, to be honest. ]

Makes you wonder, huh. If we're really the first, or actually the latest.

[ He swirls his drink in his glass briefly, then cocks an eyebrow. ]

Help me out here. Do you tell someone who's died 'my condolences'?

[spoilers]

Doesn't it.

[ River wouldn't be in the least surprised if they aren't the first. It feels like they're on the sort of mission that might span generations. ]

It depends on the person, I imagine. If you're asking on my account, it was a long time ago.

[ And not knowing better, one might even believe she's well past being troubled by it. ]

I died saving someone I cared for very much. I would do it again. He would have preferred I hadn't.

[ She smiles softly at the mention of the Doctor, even if she does have a word or two for him about the importance of choice. ]

He made a backup.

[ At that, she takes another drink. ]