ten_fwd | [OPEN; Party Post!] B-i-r-t-h-d-a-y boys in Ten Forward

Current Location: Deck 10, Forward: Lounge

Entry tags:

[OPEN; Party Post!] B-i-r-t-h-d-a-y boys in Ten Forward

Steve's been spending a lot of time with Akito since he woke up. He feels responsible for the kid, even if the accident wasn't his fault. Since the knock to his head affected his memories, Steve kinda feels like the only guy on this ship who remembers who he is, and when the topic of a health care guardian came up with Dr. Crusher he seemed like the only real choice. Looking over his medical file a few days ago, he looked up and smiled.

"Hey, you've got the same birthday as my best friend," he had said.

Akito had just blinked at him. "I do?"

There was never much folding green* lying around back when he and Bucky were kids, so birthdays were usually marked by the usual pinch-to-grow-an-inch and a 'Happy Birthday, Punk,' and sometimes -- on good years -- a flat cake (because they were always out of baking soda) decorated with candy corn they'd saved from the last fall. He had frowned, realizing Akito and Bucky may have shared something else in common. Neither of them could remember ever having a birthday party.

So there's a cake in Ten Forward. A real one, with layers and frosting and 'Happy Birthday' scrawled across the top in icing. There are some balloons and music, and the bartender has helped out with punch and drinks and other snacks. Next to the cake there are a few wrapped presents. Hey, Steve got Natasha an alien space dog for her birthday; there's no way he was going to forget Bucky and Akito. Even if, to get them to come, he told Bucky the party was for Akito, and told Akito the party was for Bucky. Hey, it's the truth. Sort of.

It's not a huge party -- Steve wouldn't know the first thing about throwing one like that -- but it's festive and open to the whole room. Steve's friendly to everybody, helpful where he can be, and as long as everyone is on this ship he figures that makes them part of the same team. So come get a slice of cake.

(*slang for extra spending cash
ooc: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUCKY BARNES AND WANIJIMA AKITO!! As if Steve would forget. So this is set up party post style, where we'll have subheadings for various party activities, but if we forget anything fun or you have ideas to add in, start your own header threads! Then tag around wherever you like, using the subject line to say if you're OTA or locked to certain people like Steve, Akito, or Bucky. Steve would have made the invitation to the party public, so there's no need to worry about crashing. EVERYONE IS INVITED!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Bruce had heard about the party, and he had not been about to miss it. He was not going to stay. He was just stepping in long enough to drop off presents, and if he saw the lucky two, he would wish them a happy birthday, then scamper back out again. He knew himself, and a party was a bad idea.

So he sidled in, and headed directly for the present table, head down but lifted just enough to not run into anyone.

Don't think you can get out of this without socializing, Bruce! Because there is one large, fluffy Birman chilling out under the present table, wearing a party hat and a bow tie and playing with a piece of ribbon. At least until Bruce comes within swatting distance and suddenly the man's feet are Shark's new toy.

And that is actually a huge relief for said cat's caretaker, as Akito had no idea where the heck his furry friend ran off to and was very keen on using him as a living teddy bear to combat social anxiety. It's just unfortunate that his cat is being rude. But it's also very cute and funny, so he stifles a laugh.

"You found Shark."

Bruce blinked, and then glanced downward and chuckled. "I did, I see. " He reached down and plucked the cat upward. Bruce had long ago stopped feeling minor pains such as clawmarks and the kitty's clinging to his hand just made him chuckle.

"He's a cute one." Then he peered at the other person as he handed the pet over.

Shark, for all that he's well-trained and means to be gentle, does indeed have sharp claws. But Shark also knows when to apologize for using them (or at least as much as a cat can know that) - especially when he's placed into Akito's arms and the boy tells him to say sorry.

"You used too much claw, Shark - apologize, okay?"

A swish of a long, fluffy tail and there's a mewl sent in Bruce's general direction. It earns the cat a scratch behind the ears. Once Shark is suitably distracted by the snuggles, Akito smiles and responds to the man's compliment.

"He is! I guess he slept with me every night when I was in the medbay, even if the doctors kicked him out."

Bruce chuckled. "Thank you, Shark." he smiled uncertainly, and nodded to the boy. "Then he is definitely a good guy. Most pets would freak out in such situations. You're lucky to have someone so loyal."

Bruce thought loyalty was very important.

"After being brought to a space ship nothing will likely freak him out that much, ne Shark?" It's clear how much Akito loves the cat he raised from a malnourished kitten, even if he can't remember any of it. Shark purrs loud as a motorcycle, swishing his tail back and forth and getting hair all over Akito's Captain America hoodie.

"Steve seems loyal too - like a golden retriever. Never letting me go anywhere fun without dragging me back to rest." He pulls a face, but it's fond all the same. "I'm really lucky he found me, I think."

Bruce arched an eyebrow and glanced over to where Steve was, talking to some people, then grinned. "Steve's a good guy." Bruce relaxed a touch.

Akito can't help but pull a bit of a face at that. "Too good. One day you will find him in the dictionary under 'martyr'."

Bruce's tone is gentle, but his eyes are sharp and on Akito's. "Bite your tongue. Steve's who he has to be, and he's survived where a lot of practical men haven't. remember that. He might seem like he will die easily, but he won't. I know that for a fact." He remembered the war for New York all too much. The nightmares never left him.

"I will not." Akito looks frightened for a fraction of a second after his retort, though he doesn't know where that flare of terror came from. Choosing to ignore it, he continues: "I never said he would die easily - I said he'll end up a martyr, and if he keeps going on like he does he will. If he feels so much guilt over not being fast enough to catch some random, idiotic kid falling off a cliff that he essentially becomes a foster parent, how much guilt does he feel over things that could have been in his control? He's going to kill himself one day because he doesn't think he's as important as everyone else. He doesn't even acknowledge his own hurts, and that's why he's a... A dumbass." Then, for good measure: "And a hypocrite."

And it scares Akito, because if something happens to Steve he'll have no one left here who cares for him as him - not just a patient.

What also scares Akito is his cup of juice exploding into an icy little geiser. Thankfully in a disposable cup and not glass, so less loud and dangerous.

Bruce raised an eyebrow, one hand closed tight at some of what the kid said.

"Then talk to him, if you really feel that way. As for those of us who actually think higher of him than that, and actually don't agree with you? We'll keep our own counsel from someone who insults him so stupidly." And Bruce turned, and moved out of the room, rage bleeding out of him like blood from a body, and all of his intentions to stay calm gone.

Stupid kids.

He didn't turn or acknowledge the kid again, and his own anger was such that he never even saw the little geyser trick. By the time he hit the hall, he was running form the place he knew he could get calm in.

~fin~

Bucky spots Bruce and slowly approaches him so that he doesn't startle him. Bruce's arrival almost makes him smile as he realises he may have made a friend.

"Hello. I'm pleased you came. Can I get you a water or something else?"

Bruce turned at his voice and smiled slowly. Almost shyly, really. A new friend was something precious to him, seeing as how few he had ever had.

"Water would be fine. How is it going?" He doesn't look out over the party, knowing crowds and him didn't mix too well, but he can focus on Bucky and talk to him, and not run away, right? Right.

Bucky turns away and picks up an unopened water bottle from the next table. The lid is kept firmly screwed on until he rejoins Bruce, so Bruce can see him open it and pour it. He does not want the other to worry about the water water being poisoned or spiked.

"Steve and Akito have a lot of friends," Bucky replies, handing the bottle over without meeting the other's eyes.

Bruce's eyes slipped to the other, then blinked, and he took the bottle. "So do you, Bucky, even if it's not apparent." He shifted so his voice could pitch lower for his new friend's ears alone.

"A crowd like this is probably not going to have me around it long." He gestured toward the door. "Want to take a walk?"

Bucky shakes his head, "If they are friends with me, it is because of Steve. They accept me because of him." He looks sideways at Bruce. "You are different." They have connected because of an experience that they share and Bucky likes the distinction.

"A walk is good." Bucky cannot stay away from the party for too long, but he wants to spare time for Bruce. "Do you get agitated in crowds?"

Bruce didn't give any further false pretenses or reassurances. He knew how fickle people could be. "Maybe. But you are a good man, and I'm sure you'll find your share of friends." In time. Like Bruce, Bucky would probably make them slowly, for similar reasons. It was hard to trust, or open up, after lives like theirs.

Bruce smiled faintly, then nodded. As they headed out, he explained. "Not agitated, but my heart rate goes up and my pulse speeds faster, and with so many people around, it is harder to see and hear people before they approach, and before they speak."

And that meant he got startled. And that did agitate him. Surprises were not something Bruce liked, approved of, or ever wanted in his life. Ever. Every surprise was a brief window when his control was not perfect, and peoples' lives depended on his control and concentration being absolutely perfect.

Bucky could understand a little, he finds that crowds press in around him when he feels out of control of himself and his memories. Everything becomes a potential threat. "I am told, it gets easier with exposure." He snorts, the rule was made by someone who had never had a problem in his life.

"How high does your heart rate go up before you change?"

Bruce nodded. "That's what they say." His voice held scepticism. He was not sure he believed it, really. He had been exposed to many crowds, and he still didn't like them. He took a long breath as they walked and he nodded, glancing at Bucky acknowledging the question.

"It depends on two things. How ready I am for stress, and whether or not the increase is sudden." He grinned and then shook his head. "I've learned the hard way that sudden surprises of any kind, and sudden pains of any kind are bad ideas. But if I know stress is coming and can prepare myself for it, I can get pretty high in the beats without losing control." That was a fairly new thing, something he had only really discovered in the last few years since the University Incident. But then, he had really never realized how he could control it by admitting it and by accepting it, instead of denying it.

Bucky tilts his head, Bruce's plan works when he can isolate himself or control every aspect of the environment. It would mean living in a self imposed cell. "You need to experience stress and surprises in small doses until you become accustomed to it." He shrugs. "That is how I taught agents to withstand torture."

"That makes sense, and I have tried it a few times. But I find it hard to gain control of an area enough to control things that well. Even here, events seem to somehow spiral out of my control, sometimes." And he had retreated, successfully, time and again, here, even spending entire weeks alone.

"The holodeck." Bucky needs something to do. He needs a mission. "You can test yourself against me, and I will devise new situations. I can take care of myself." His smile is wry. "I am not indestructible but I am not allowed to lose." The punishment for losing....he became icy thinking about it.

Bruce hesitated, uncertain, then slowly nodded. "As long as you'll promise to get the hell out of dodge at the first sign of green." He had seen too many nightmares come real, of late, and he didn't want to see any more of that, especially not in a friend.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[OPEN; Party Post!] B-i-r-t-h-d-a-y boys in Ten Forward

Bruce Banner - For Steve, Bucky, or Akito, if they want to tag in different threads!

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