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HORIZON.
THE HOUSE
Much of the house will be familiar to anyone who found themselves in Sam's domain before, an old Southern home, a few worn wooden boards, probably in need of a new coat of paint. Leading up to the house is a long drive, short-cropped grass, and a small area off to the side where trees have been wrapped in padding. The home does not carry with it the strange, forceful sense of safety as it did before, but it is just as well worn and well-loved. Just as open and inviting, if you need a place to put your feet up. You're still just as welcome, it just won't be as imposing about it anymore.
THE PORCH
Wrapping around the base of the house is a wide, lived-in wooden porch. There are various rocking chairs and pieces of outdoor furniture make it a very comfortable and enjoyable place to sit and have a drink, to escape from the chaos inside, or to work on a few house-related items. At one corner of the porch hangs a large fishing net - it probably belongs to a boat, somewhere.
THE DOCK
Stretched out over a bit of water out behind the house is a long wooden dock. During the first Horizon event, there had been a boat attached, but there is a lack of any ship faring vehicles this time around. If asked, Sam will just shrug - it's hard to see too much of home knowing it's not real and he can't go back. He needed a few things to be missing, a few reminders that as realistic as this place might be, it's not the real thing, and there are still people waiting for him.
THE KITCHEN
The kitchen is nice, but there is a suspicious feeling now that it isn't quite big enough. Well lived in and stocked with whatever you can imagine would be in a normal, modern kitchen. Unlike in the first event, it will not always have something cooking, but feel free to dig in and start in on a project. Just be sure to clean up after yourself - Sam's not your maid, or your mother, and he's not afraid to chase people down to get the chores done.
THE BEDROOMS
Unlike before, there are not an unlimited amount of bedrooms. This house plays by more reality-driven rules, this time around. But there are a few rooms, places for anyone who wants to stay to find some space. They might not need to sleep in the Horizon, but sometimes people want to have a place for themselves. There is one room that is locked, and it's understood to be Sam's, but the others can be claimed or used for whatever you need.
THE LIVING SPACES
The house is open to be lived in and used, that much is obvious. Save for a single bedroom upstairs that remains locked, the doors are open, the rooms inviting. The TV is always on in the living room, no matter how often he might turn it off, news reports of good things as well as not, some from years before. Make yourself at home. Get settled. There are video games in the living room and DVDs on the bookshelf and blankets in the closet, if you get cold.
SAM'S HORIZON DOMAIN
This post acts as Sam's Horizon inbox, open Horizon log, etc.! Please feel free to leave him notes or messages, if he's not around. Or, if you're looking to make contact with him, come and stay a while - there's food in the fridge and probably something you can find to entertain yourself with.
The biggest thing to note is that between the First Horizon Event and now is that the house doesn't have any more of that imposing, overwhelming magical feeling to it. If you want to stay, you're welcome to stay, but it's not going to insert itself into your life anymore. There are still pictures everywhere, probably more than he actually has at home, but the pictures and pieces of lives that fill this house are no longer strange and shifting, but rather are filled out of the memories of those who have, or had, called this place home. Anyone who came to Sam's Horizon domain before has a picture, somewhere, and mixed within them are faces they probably wouldn't recognize. But Sam would - there are photos of his nephews, his parents, his sister, his friends. Pieces of his life out and on display, if you know where to look.
The biggest thing to note is that between the First Horizon Event and now is that the house doesn't have any more of that imposing, overwhelming magical feeling to it. If you want to stay, you're welcome to stay, but it's not going to insert itself into your life anymore. There are still pictures everywhere, probably more than he actually has at home, but the pictures and pieces of lives that fill this house are no longer strange and shifting, but rather are filled out of the memories of those who have, or had, called this place home. Anyone who came to Sam's Horizon domain before has a picture, somewhere, and mixed within them are faces they probably wouldn't recognize. But Sam would - there are photos of his nephews, his parents, his sister, his friends. Pieces of his life out and on display, if you know where to look.
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He sits on the grass and leans against a tree to wait.
At least the view is nice. There's something about being in Sam's space that makes Bucky feel tethered to something good instead of floating off in his own thoughts and nightmares. It's familiar and warm like the memory of his mother's cooking on a cold night or leaning closer to a campfire in snow-covered mountains. He's not sure how much of that comes from it being a well-loved and lived in home and how much of it comes from it being Sam's, but he's also not ready to examine that too closely. ]
Been waiting.
[ He speaks up the moment he hears leaves crunch under shoes that he's sure are Sam's. He just pays attention to things like that. ]
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because he hadn't. they had met up when everything first went to shit, barely a minute's worth of confirmations. go to the free cities, i'll meet you on the other side, i'm going to be busy so watch your own back for once. sam had actually been smirking a bit when they finally separated too, something about the adrenaline rush feeling good. feeling familiar. it's just another fight. just another mission. bucky had his own shit to take care of, and so did sam, but sam could trust bucky to pay attention to make it through. to meet up with him on the other side. they've fought thanos together, for god's sake. and this time they don't even have people shooting at them.
except bucky hadn't made it through. and it had taken sam days to figure that out.
he knows that a part of the reason is that he does trust bucky - to take care of himself, to survive, to watch his own back. but the issue sam is dealing with now is that yes, he'd trusted bucky, and where had that left them? bucky, in enemy territory. bucky, in a place where tensions had already been building. bucky, left behind.
again.
because sam knew about what happened with bucky. he'd heard about it from steve, had read the reports, and even if bucky didn't want to talk about it first hand, sam had seen the effects of what it had done to him. ambrose may not be hydra, but sam can't stop himself from feeling the guilt roiling away inside of him. he hadn't meant it, he hadn't meant it, and yet the facts were there. bucky hadn't made it out, and now they were separated by months of travel, if not more. and sam felt- well. sam felt guilty. sam felt like it was his fault.
he should have been paying more attention. he knows he should have. but he wasn't, for whatever reason, and now look where it got them.
it didn't take long after that before sam tries for the horizon, closing himself off in his apartment (that he shares with peter and mal and alina, that he'd had - somewhere subconsciously - been planning on housing bucky too). meditating takes longer than it should, really, but sam blames his emotional state for that, and tries to focus.
when he shows back up to the border of his family lot, there is a mixture of relief and anxiety. he's not even sure bucky is going to be here, and part of sam feels almost silly for thinking this was a good idea at all, but considering he's here and he hasn't even checked yet, he moved on in. up the drive, which he recognizes now. approaching the house, which looks much closer to the truth of what his home back in lousiana is supposed to look. his mind wanders, to the cookout, the last time he was here, to all that's happened since he's last looked at his house and now.
he walks right by bucky - somehow distracted, again - and jumps when he calls out. the emotions that surge through him are extreme in every direction. the relief that bucky is still here; the anger at how casual he sounds; the actual, honest joy in knowing that for whatever reason ambrose hasn't already thrown his ass back into the well and sent him back home... ]
Buck.
[ what comes out first is relief, soon followed by that anger that bucky is probably expecting. sam's brow tightens and lips turn down into a frown. ]
What the fuck, man?
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[ The relief washes over him, like releasing a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. Sam's here. They're both here and that means they're both okay and they're not cut off from each other entirely.
The truth is that Bucky had barely gotten out of the castle, but he doesn't want to worry Sam with that. It doesn't matter, because he did make it out. He's gotten pretty used to living under the radar and on the fringes and by himself in all of that, so he knows he'll be okay even if he's not entirely thrilled about it.
Sam has good people with him, too, so it feels irrational to worry that he's not there to have Sam's back, but he does worry. Who's going to have Sam's back the way Bucky does? ]
Hi, Bucky, how are you doing? Oh I'm great. This is going to be like Bucharest, except without entire tac teams trying to take me down. It's like a vacation for me.
[ He drops the sarcasm and smiles up at Sam sadly before he pushes himself up to his feet. Brushing dirt that probably isn't real from his pants, he sighs and lets himself get a good look at Sam. ]
Everyone on your end okay? I was worried you were going to try to launch some half-cocked rescue with Mister Wizard and the Spiderkid.
[ Mostly, he cares about Sam, though. Is Sam okay? That matters most, because Sam looks after everyone in the whole fucking world before he looks out for himself and Bucky knows it. ]
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[ and maybe this would be easier if sam took the bait. they work well like that - in lock step, passing snide comments laced with sarcasm back and forth. that would be easy, and maybe would do something to ease the tension he still feels tightening around his chest. he does feel better, knowing that bucky is safe. that bucky is together enough to make it into the horizon. but that had been the case before, too, hadn't it? that even those in the dungeons had been able to find their own way here?
( okay, honestly, sam is more relieved than he even wants to accept for himself. whether or not geralt had meant it, he had brought up an actual, honest fear that bucky could have left completely, could have left sam here on his own. and while that would have been good in some ways, that selfish part of him wasn't exactly sure what he would do if that were true )
but it doesn't matter. bucky seems okay enough, and sam should feel better about it. but god, he still feels awful. ]
Bucharest sucked, for all of us. [ he gets a flash of bucky, being taken in. bucky, locked in that private cell. the winter soldier. it kills him to think about that, even if he knows that's part of bucky's humor. that it's an attempt to make light of it. but sam can't, or can't yet, and when bucky gives him that sad smile sam just ends up shaking his head, pushing the thought away. ]
What? I mean- yeah. The kid's fine, he's staying with me now. Strange is fine, too, he's been talking with- no, you know what? No. [ sam shakes his head, not because he's actually saying no to the question, but because he's not ready to move through this yet. bucky's stood, now, and sam takes his own second to look bucky over. even if some part of him knows it doesn't matter. where bucky is outside of this horizon place could be so different than what he sees, couldn't it? he wishes he had a better idea of how this all worked. wished he has any idea how this works.
they're barely a step or so apart, now, and some of that worry begins to peek through the anger. don't get him wrong, that frustration is still there, but there's something else under the surface. ]
Do I need to launch a rescue mission? I don't even know what happened. You knew how much time we had and where we were supposed to meet. What held you up? Are you still at the castle? Are you okay?
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Things with Steve had been... not easy, exactly, but they'd had a language in their jokes. They'd been able to say things without actually having to say them. He doesn't exactly have that with Sam yet. It is "yet", because he knows they've got something good between them. Maybe he doesn't know what to call it, but it's something real and Bucky isn't exactly looking to turn away the first real friend he's made since Wakanda.
He holds up his hands in surrender. ]
I'm okay. I'm in Nott. That representative I talked to at the banquet is from here. It's really not bad as long as you like fish.
[ Of course, Bucky's strength means he can always find work just about anywhere. Heavy lifting tends to pay and it's easy enough for him to do without breaking much of a sweat. As long as he doesn't get dragged back to the castle, he knows he can get by for as long as he needs to. ]
I wasn't going to make it, so I got my ass out of the castle before they could round me up.
[ He feels a little bad, sure, but better him than Sam. Sam's with other people. Bucky can get by on his own if he needs to. Not that he doesn't believe in Sam, but Sam's a little more breakable than Bucky is and twice as likely to make a sacrifice play for someone else. ]
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the hands being held up at least work to remind sam to chill, despite how much he just wants to keep getting angry. they tell him to take a breath, even though he wants to do anything but. sam isn't normally an angry person, and isn't usually one to hold onto anger for very long, but wrapped up in worry and stress and adrenaline and unanswered questions... sam could probably keep going, if he needed to. even if bucky didn't necessarily deserve it. ]
Nott? [ he pauses for a moment, just trying to remember the map. the towns. the representative bucky's talking about. it's another moment later that he remembers - god, that was back during the worm expedition. he shakes his head. ] And everything's okay over there? Isn't that place kind of close to the capital? What happened after everyone woke up?[ what about ambrose? the others? what about any kind of retaliation? he wants to keep asking questions, because boy does he have questions, but he's having issues with figuring out which ones he wants to ask first. sam ends up crossing his arms over his chest a bit as he considers what bucky tells him, his expression settling into something of a frown.
he's not happy with any of this, as bucky as so far guessed, but he's simmering. ]
Are there more guests there? In Nott? Or are you on your own?
[ because he does feel better, even if only a little, knowing bucky's not in the castle anymore. knowing that he can't be tossed down into a cell and held there for who knows how long. nott should be a decent enough distance away, he thinks, but is it far enough? bucky has always been good at surviving, yes, but sam doesn't want to think about bucky just surviving for who knows how long. ]
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All the loss, so long away from what's familiar and comfortable, it's taken its toll. Nadine's been on a downward slide since Flagg's disappearance, and Susan's vanishing was too much on top of everything else. But she doesn't want to think about that, tries to focus on the sights and surroundings as she leaves familiar domains behind and journeys into the unknown. She hasn't visited many domains. She knows, of course, Julie and Lloyd's. And where Geralt's is, but she steers clear of it today in case he's there. He knows her too well.
Instead she finds herself wandering somewhere else that she realizes is familiar. The sprawling grounds, the comfortable and homey looking big house, the water...she's been here before. Just the once, but she remembers it rather fondly. This place could be back home, before the end of the world came. It stirs both a sharp nostalgia and a painful sense of homesickness, two sides of the same coin rising together.
She doesn't mean to be rude, but she doesn't just stick to the far edges of this place. She can't help herself, the call of familiar normalcy too great to ignore. Even the feel of the long drive under her feet speaks to her as she follows it to the house itself. If someone's here, she'll just leave if asked. Or maybe she should go up and knock? Announce herself, rather than just skulking about like a wraith? She hesitates near the porch, debating with herself, looking from the front door to back the way she came, wondering if maybe she ought to just turn right around and leave.]
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but today, he does - does push off whatever errands he'd been planning on doing, does change around his day to head back upstairs and meditate. does open up his eyes and see the inside of his bedroom and push himself up to head downstairs.
timing wise, makes it out the back door and upon finding no one there, steps around the side of the porch to the front of the house, catching sight of a woman in a long black coat hovering just beyond. he waits a moment, to see if she'll approach or if she's just passing through, while he tries to place where he's seen her before. when it becomes obvious she's not making moves for either, he does eventually call out. ]
You planning on coming inside or...? [ it's said as a kind of joke, and he's not entirely sure when or how, but there's a rag in his hands and he's wiping his fingers clean as he walks further to the entrance. his smile's warm, inviting, feeling himself slip into host mode. ] Nadine, right?
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Nadine grimaces a little in embarrassment, and she lifts a hand in greeting.]
Uh, yeah, Nadine. Hi, sorry, I promise I'm not doing anything weird. I was just...wandering and saw a familiar place.
[It still feels a bit like she's been caught trespassing. What is the etiquette when it comes to personal dream-realms that are all connected? But Sam doesn't seem bothered, at least, by her hesitant presence here. She walks up to meet him as he comes around, hands shoved into her coat pockets.]
I know we haven't formally met, but I was at that cookout you threw a while back. I didn't mean to bother you.
[And won't take offense if she's asked to leave. Not everyone likes unexpected visitors, less so when they're virtual strangers.]
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No, really, you're okay. [ and he means it - he could have easily made this place a little more secure, a little less inviting, but that sort of defeats the purpose. his house is open for anyone, and everyone, who stumbles through. and it's part of the reason sam's stopped being surprised when people find themselves wandering in. and on top of all of that, nadine's being quite polite, and sam feels his smile widen warmly. ]
If you've been by the house, you're always welcome. And, for some people, even if you haven't. You're not a bother. [ that's when sam turns to the front door, pulling open the large wooden door and holding it for her. ] Wanna come in?
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[Nadine manages a small laugh. The Horizon is almost limitless, aside from it being a finite realm. Who knew what people go up to around here?
She contemplates the offer. She knows she's not the best company right now, but this all feels so normal. And looks so normal. There's something extremely comforting in the familiar sights of this particular domain. And it's rude to decline an invitation that's been directly offered.]
Uh...yeah, thank you. If you're sure I'm not interrupting.
[Surely other people retreat to here when they want to be alone, it's not just her. She'd hate to intrude on someone's solitude. But the offer was made, so she makes her way to the porch stairs and door.]
It's a beautiful house.
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He doesn't know Sam beyond a couple of passing meetings, so he has no idea of what to expect - even as he strides directly up the driveway, his gaze drifts to the padding on the trees, the well-worn furniture sitting out on the front porch, the modest figure of the house itself. Everything looks practical and lived-in, worn down from use and care. There was a time when he would have scoffed at it, not understanding, but now he feels a bittersweet sort of longing. Even when he'd lived with Jane on Earth, they had never quite made it to something - settled.
Thor climbs the porch steps feeling, for no real reason, as if he's intruding on something personal. ]
Captain Wilson?
[ Thor has dressed much the same as he usually does on Earth; he wears a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, and his hair braided and tied back, an unremarkable 'umbrella' in hand. He doubts that Sam will take offense if he doesn't wear his armor. ]
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now, it's just a home. sam's home - the same one he grew up in, the same one his sister and nephews live in now - and that's pretty clear from the lived-in-ness of it. the rooms with patches, the players where the floor doesn't match. some of the furniture is older than sam himself and there is nothing in this house that isn't used and loved.
sam, as he waits for thor's entrance - low key or otherwise - is in the kitchen. he moves around easily, though there almost seems as if there is some distant soreness. something he can't quite shake. even so, when the question is asked, he hears it through the screen door, a nice spring afternoon starting to settle around them. captain wilson? ]
Door's open! [ he calls out, friendly and welcoming. because yes, he has only ever 'met' thor in a couple of meetings, and he would solidly put them in the 'coworker' category, but it's also been years. years.
so when thor does make it in, sam's standing in the hallway, two beers in hand. he offers one to the god. ] Welcome to the Wilson House.
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Inside, the house seems much the same as the outside - comfortable and welcoming, without pretense. It's the same sort of impression he gets from Sam, even with the brief meetings and many years between them. ]
I am grateful for the invitation. [ He takes the beer with a nod, what tension there was bleeding out of him easily. Thor smiles. ] It's good to see you again, in a manner of speaking. You look good. How do you fare?
[ Steve might not have said it in so many words, but it was clear from their conversation that he'd been worried about his friend's condition, even if all seemed well enough now. ]
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Invitation's always open, even if I'm here. [ because that's true - sam's house is always open, and it's an invitation he's given out freely, though if thor went wandering he would find some locked doors upstairs.
sam's smile holds, and there's a feeling it will probably remain that way. more than just as a host, sam feels good in this space. ] Good to see you too, man - or at least, as close as a lot of us get. The factions don't really meet up all that often.
[ sam's going to eat these words soon, given the next event, but shh.
when thor asks how he's doing, sam lets out a breath, assuming he's at least got something of a heads up from steve. ] I'm alright. A friend of mine and I ran into some issues out in the desert recently, and some of us normal humans take longer to heal than others, but I'll be fine. [ because explaining everything will take too much time, so sam tries to rush over it, turning just a bit to give thor a quick, easy tour before they get into everything. ]
Kitchen's back there - since all this is mental, it's not real food, but sometimes I like to pretend I can make shit when I feel like it. Porch and dock are open, same as anything on this floor. [ as he mentions the rooms, he's pointing around to the various halls and space, even if it's pretty self explanatory. ] The TV's only got whatever I can remember, but uh. Be careful when you turn it on. [ sam's run into....some not great news stories, sometimes. we love subconscious shifts to the horizon domain. ]
closed; steve. (backdated to a day or so after sam wakes up)
he doesn't know why the horizon isn't the first thing that comes to mind, and that is probably more telling about where he is mentally than anything else.
but somewhere between oh, the horizon and one of steve's daily check'ins, it comes to light that steve hasn't gone in himself yet. again, another thing sam probably should have expected - or, perhaps, something he did expect. either way, it's a matter of like fifteen minutes before steve is settled by sam's bed in his own chair and sam's explained the basics. about how it's like meditating, how you need help the first time in but after that you can go whenever you one. how it's one of the few things that only the summoned can do, and that it's one of the few places he would call safe and how, just this first trip, it's going to be a little complicated. ]
It's like your memories are wiped. You're still yourself, like, who you are, but you don't remember details - where you are, where you've come from, any of it. But- [ he adds quickly, settling a bit more comfortably in his bed. ] I'll be at your six, and you only have to stay as long as you want. Next time in, you'll remember everything, so. Whatever you want to do.
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So it's Sam who brings it up, and Steve can gather that it's mainly a result of how restless he's already feeling, confined to a room like this. He wouldn't be any better, he knows, so he bites back on his concern that Sam might be pushing himself too hard.
If the Horizon is a place you reach by meditating, then maybe this will still be like resting. It's a decent compromise, either way.
Steve leans back in the chair, arms crossing over his chest as he tries to imagine what it will be like to have no memories. If he'll still be himself in some way, then it isn't the same as what was done to Bucky. And this is only temporary. There's no reason to be uncomfortable about it, especially if Sam will be there the whole time. ]
I guess I won't really know what I want to do until I'm in there. I won't remember you either, right? [ Still, Steve's trust for Sam is implicit. Sam will know the right things to say to him, even when he doesn't have memories. Steve looks unsure as he skims one hand over the side of his head and then to the back of his neck to slowly rub at the tensed muscle there. ] I can't say I'm any good at meditating.
[ Not that he's really tried, but he's pretty sure it's not his thing. ]
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the two of them had gotten used to this - of not really arguing, of not really disagreeing, but if knowing where they each stood and what to do with it, where the compromise will lie. a moment later, sam smiles, a reassurance that he's not pushing anything, that this really will be fine, really, and he's not just saying that.
( and that's the thing, isn't it? that sam knows where steve's mind has gone. that he's thinking about bucky. sam has done this once before, with buck, so it makes sense that steve would be tense about it. it's why sam explains so much of it, who he's taking so much time. ) ]
Nah, not technically. But you might know I'm familiar, or know that you trust me, or...you might not at all. [ sam shrugs, doesn't seem all that worried about it, no matter the situation. perhaps, sam is confident enough no matter the response he gets. perhaps sam is just confident in this process, or, he's just confident in the two of them. ] It's different for everyone, so we won't know for sure what happens until we get in there. But it'll be fine, I know it will.
[ he watches steve's hand move from the side of his head to the back of his neck, the quiet tension written across his face. but his comment, his worry, has sam smiling. ]
I can help with that, actually. [ he holds out his hand. ] You trust me?
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There's no one he would rather do this with, that much is certain.
Steve drops his hand and then stares down at Sam's for a few seconds before he nods. It's already been explained that some kind of physical contact is needed, and so he reaches forward to lightly rest his palm over Sam's hand. His eyes flick up to look Sam in the face. ]
I don't think you have to ask.
[ Trust has existed between them pretty much from the start, ever since he and Nat showed up at Sam's house without anywhere else to go and he'd taken them in, no questions asked. ]
What now? [ His head shifts to one side. ] Should I close my eyes?
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No, but I like hearing it.
[ sam grins as steve takes his hand, and he nods. leans forward just enough to reach with his other hand and cup steve's forearm. that second hand is for the relaxing, as sam sometimes calls it, and if steve is paying attention he can probably feel it starting to work. a relaxing, a calming, a centering of himself that might feel unnatural for those who tend to forget how to relax in the first place. ]
Yeah- close your eyes, center yourself, and I'll see you on the other side.
[ once sam's magic has done it's work calming steve down enough to meditate, sam lets go with that second hand and sits back in his bed, pulling them both under and into his domain. when he opens his eyes, he's standing in his front yard, feet in the soft grass, the trees around them wrapped in extra padding. it's his practice arena, for the shield, which sam distractedly wonders how steve will take.
too late now. he turns to where steve is most likely standing, curious as to how he'll end up looking. ]
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this house says my name like an elegy (affliction event)
Not just anywhere else, though. The first thing he notices are the framed pictures on the walls. While this may be a modern-looking bedroom, it's not being treated as that. With the arrangement of the frames and the way that some of them have accompanying plaques, it feels more like a museum than anything else.
Between the faces that he recognizes (Natasha, Riley, himself) and the familiar wallpaper and carpet, he realizes who this room must belong to. He hasn't spent all that much time in Sam's domain, mainly because he doesn't come to the Horizon much in general, but he knows this is his house.
His room. Where Steve isn't supposed to be.
To his credit, he does try to walk out the door before looking too hard at anything, but he finds that he's been locked inside. Of course.
At that point, he can't ignore the fact that there's a solemn photograph of him framed prominently on the wall. (Does he remember when it was taken? He doesn't think so.) He steps up to it, brow creasing as he considers how much he doesn't know about his own future. Wanda said that he'd disappeared, Tony had made some cryptic comments, and Sam's managed to always avoid bringing it up. Maybe that's also because Steve hasn't pressed the subject as much as he should have, if he's being honest.
His stomach rolls with uncertainty, but then he feels the addition of a presence behind him. He whirls around just in time to see Sam himself, deposited here as if the Horizon's forcing the issue for them.
Steve clenches his jaw and shakes his head. ] Sorry, I— I don't even know how I got here. [ But he's here now, and neither of them can ignore that. ]
rolls up sleeves
ever since sam's earliest memories, no matter the issues it caused. doors, windows, the liquor cabinet, the closet back out on the dock. his father used to roar about how unsafe it left them, how much trouble it caused when his tools would go missing, the hell sam faced when his dad's missing handle of whisky was found out by his football equipment in the shed. but his mama had always held firm, always stood tall, on that simple fact - if someone, if anyone, needed something so badly they felt they had to take it, and they were willing to come this far to look for it, she would not stop them. and he understood that to a point, liked the concept even, though it had posed some problems growing up. (he still remembers the way the walls had shook when his mama and sarah had their worst fight over it, how she couldn't have a locked door, how if she couldn't have her room she didn't want any part of this family, etc etc etc. it was all quite dramatic.)
all this to say, sam has only ever known his house to be unlocked, and because of that, the copy of it he keeps here in the horizon is much of the same. unlocked, open, inviting, providing a space for anyone who might need it, no matter what those needs might be. the only difference here is that sam isn't his mama, and he's not his dad, either. and maybe that's a failing, maybe that's something he should try harder to be, but he can't. he isn't. he can keep his heart and home as open as they had, and it shows in the fact that there has always been, and will always been, this room. locked. bolted. closed.
sam hasn't spent much time in here, if he's being honest. he found it during those first few days after they all regained their memories, when he felt like he was doing the most in-depth self-analyzation session of his life. he had opened that door, felt the cool museum lighting, had seen those photographs on the wall, and had thought I'll come back to this later. and he has, though only once or twice, the people he's lost and the faces he sees all on display around him. he remembers thinking how is this possible, that a single space can somehow both be a museum exhibit he's spent too long wandering and his bedroom, back at the wilson house. how both of these images can possibly fit into a single spot, impossible and yet wholly there each time he checked. it has to be the magic of the horizon, yes, but it still feels off. like this isn't meant to be displayed this way, and maybe that's why sam hasn't been back here in months.
or maybe it's because he's not sure what to do with the fact steve's photograph hasn't disappeared, even after he arrived.
still, no one is supposed to be able to get in there. sam had made sure of it, the locks all but impossible to break, the process of getting inside too sensitive for anyone to sneak up to. but it is very much like the singularity to find the exact ways to slip through that. sam does sense the second steve gets portaled there, though he has no idea who it is that's made it inside. just the fact someone is there, which has sam settling in to come to the horizon himself.
but then he is right there, and sam needs a second to blink, not having planned on arriving inside the door when he sat down to meditate. and he definitely hadn't planned on it being steve standing there in front of him. quickly sam's eyes survey the room to make sure nothing of it is worse off, that the singularity isn't playing those sorts of tricks on them, before he gives a shake of his head. ]
I'd hope not, but it's chill. The Singularity likes to mess with us sometimes. We can just- [ and that's when sam turns, trying for the door, just to find it locked. he pauses, confused by the actual wall he finds himself up against, and rattles the door knob twice more before letting out a sigh. ] Well. That...isn't supposed to happen.
[ and that is when sam feels the rising anxious realization of what door this is going to metaphorically open, and he tries shouldering the door just once. just in case. ]
How long have you been locked in here?
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Not Sam, though. Sam's too willing to give the benefit of the doubt in most cases. This room is raising some questions, there's no doubt about it, but Steve doesn't even know if he should ask when it's nothing he was ever supposed to witness.
They could pretend it never happened if they were simply able to walk out now, but Sam tries the door and it's just as locked for him as it was for Steve. He huffs out a frustrated scoff as he looks up toward the ceiling, almost as if he's mentally cursing the Singularity and its meddling. If Sam can't control something within his own domain, then this is definitely deliberate. ]
Not long. [ He shakes his head. ] Just a minute or two before you got here. [ That was still long enough to take a quick look around, though, and to spot that picture of himself. ] The Horizon's been going haywire. I was trapped in some bizarre place with Wanda yesterday, and before I was here it shoved me into another Summoned's domain.
[ He's tired of it by this point, but he won't be waking up until the Horizon wills it. Which means both of them are stuck here, in this monument to people Sam has lost, with Steve's portrait bearing over them. ]
I'm sorry. I... [ His gaze flicks around uncertainly. What is he supposed to say? ]
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maybe sam should be a little more concerned with that, too - that he can't actually move around his own domain. that the loss of control over what is supposed to be his own space should be raising a few more red flags. but over the last couple of months his domain has hardly even felt like his own, so this wouldn't be the first time. and if he'd been able to get the door open, he probably would have shrugged this all off, completely ignored what steve had been looking directly at right as sam showed up.
however, the door doesn't open. and steve mentions wanda, which has sam stilling unconsciously at the mention, before he exhales. ]
You don't- [ sam almost says apologize, but part of him feels like if he mentions the word, he should be the one who does it, so he ends up shaking his head and turning away from the door. ] It happens. Besides, we should probably uh- talk. Anyway. [ it's not that sam doesn't know what to do here, because he does, but guilt trips him up a bit. the realization that he's facing something he should have brought up a long time ago.
sam turns and faces steve, catches sight of his face - his actual, horizon-mirror but real life face, and then his focus shifts to the photos behind him that spread out across the wall. the photo of steve behind him. sam lets out a breath. ]
You got a few?
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Still, he knows what this is probably going to be about. Wanda has referred to it in passing, how he apparently vanished shortly after Tony's funeral, leaving the scattered Avengers to pick up the pieces.
There's more to it, though. He's gathered that much just based on the fact that Sam has so pointedly not brought it up. There's been a few times when Steve has wondered if he should push the issue, but maybe there's a part of him that's been unprepared to hear it too.
Now is the time, though. Their gazes lock for a moment before Steve follows Sam's where it goes, looking over his shoulder again at the photos. He spends more time looking at the one of Natasha, if only because he's had enough of displays dedicated to him. ]
Well, doesn't seem like either of us are going anywhere any time soon. [ Then, he finally turns to the portrait of himself for just a brief moment before swiveling back to face Sam. ] It's about time you tell me what happened, right?
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