Thursday Evening, Kennebunkport, Maine

[screwyoumarvel]

Vacation was drawing to a close, and soon the guys would have to be back in Fandom to start another school year. Clearly, there was only one thing to do, and that was eat lobster. Lots of it. With butter.

This had been accomplished, and now they were walking back toward the B&B. It was a nice evening for a walk, Steve thought. And it would probably do Tony some good.

((NFB due to distance. For those guys.))

Comments

[screwyoumarvel]

"It wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing you've done," Steve said, closing the distance between them for a jab-kick-roundhouse combination. "And you know it."

[shiroi_tiger]

Somewhere through that, apparently Nathan saw an opening to assist.

Which, naturally, meant that he had wound up Steve's shirt some, and was going to proceed to snap it at Batroc's rear like a wet towel in a locker room.

There. He'd helped.

[tyler_gone]

He did! Especially since Tyler managed to grab the shirt by one sleeve and twist it into a rope.

Poor Steve's shirt. It was now being used to lasso around ze leapair's arms in an attempt to restrain him with a firm knot.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"Zut alors!" Because that was helpful. "Thees eez not zee last time you veel see me!"

[screwyoumarvel]

"This is not what I gave you my shirt for," Steve complained.

Then from behind him, he heard someone say, "WE'll take it from here, citizen." He steeled himself for what he would find, because seriously, who called people citizen, and turned.

To find a group of costumed people led by a man dressed as a lobster striking what he was sure they thought were heroic poses. He sighed, resigned. "You're those Initiative guys, aren't you?"

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

Tony was filming them now, laughing like he couldn't even hope to stop. "Steve, we're always visiting your place from now on."

[shiroi_tiger]

"I'm moving in," Nathan added, not even bothering to try to resist laughing, now. It hurt. God, it hurt like burning and was the best laugh he'd had in his life. "Can we go to Montana, next? I want to battle a man dressed like a gopher and then get bravely rescued by someone in a bad buffalo suit."

[tyler_gone]

Tyler stepped back to lean against his car, rubbing out a bruise as he laughed. "I say California," he said. "It's sunny and I bet we find crazy evil flower children."

[screwyoumarvel]

"California's X-Men territory. And the Pride's kids down in LA," Steve said to Tyler. He dabbed at blood on his lip from a lucky shot Batroc had gotten in and gave the locals his best welcoming and interested and not-at-all-condescending face.

"Yeah," Lobster Man said. "We're the Maine Event!" He struck a new pose.

These people were sorely testing Steve's facade. He dearly wanted to join the others in laughter. "Kind of late, aren't you?"

Lobster Man shifted uncomfortably. "We had to stop for gas." The girl dressed as a pine tree, who couldn't have been over twenty, had been eyeing Steve curiously, with occasional glances at Tony. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she whispered something to the man with swim flippers and a snorkel. Great.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"Steve, I think you have a fan club," Tony informed him in a stage whisper over the phone. It was wonderful what adjustments could do for the amount of film time.

[shiroi_tiger]

"It isn't every day you get recognition from a douglas fir," Nathan added, still quite comfortable where he was at, propped against that fire hydrant.

[screwyoumarvel]

Actually, Steve did have a fan club, and Pine Tree Girl was a card-carrying member, but that was neither here nor there. Steve nodded to the woman in a leotard with a lighthouse emblazoned on it and said, "I'm sure you can take it from here."

"Can I have your autograph?" Pine Tree Girl squeaked.

"I teach high school. I don't give autographs, miss."

Their fearless crustacean leader looked confused. "What--" The guy with the snorkel grabbed Lobster Man by the shoulder and whispered in his ear. Then Lobster Man looked back at Steve. "Oh my God you're you."

Steve nodded to him. "Keep up the good work."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"Come now, Steve," Tony said, finally closing his phone and slapping Steve on the shoulder. "One little autograph couldn't hurt, right?"

[screwyoumarvel]

Steve turned to him and dropped his voice. "Tony, believe me, this is not something you understand." He turned back to the Maine Event and told them, "I'm retired. I'm no one special.

Pine Tree Girl made a sound best described as 'squee!' and began hopping up and down, a neat trick when dressed as a tree. "Ohmigod you really are back together!"

"What?--No! No, this is just..." Steve actually didn't have an adequate explanation for this. "He's from another dimension."

Like anyone ever believed that.

[shiroi_tiger]

If anybody needed Nathan, he was going to be over here by his fire hydrant, laughing himself half to death.

Possibly literally, considering. He didn't seem to mind.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"That's not what you said last night," Tony said, looking so utterly hurt it just had to be fake.

Well, if you actually knew him.

He could never resist pushing buttons.

[screwyoumarvel]

Pine Tree Girl was possibly going to die of joy.

"Tony, you are not helping," Steve snapped.

[tyler_gone]

"Not news," Tyler muttered, before flopping down on the grass next to Nathan.

He figured the costume people could handle it from here. He had important laughing his ass off to do.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"He's so embarrassed about us in public," Tony informed the Pine Tree with an easy smile and... okay, an appreciative glance. Decent looking for a tree, after all.