14970/And I Brought Bug Repellant

And I Brought Bug Repellant
Date of Scene:	21 May 2023
Location:	SHIELD Outpost
Synopsis:	Steve returns to the Savage Lands with a few comforts from home for Lara.
Cast of Characters:	Lara Croft, Steve Rogers

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Lara Croft has posed:
It's evening in this part of Antarctica's Savage Lands. The sun has about an hour left, maybe a little longer.

The SHIELD Outpost sits at the top of a steep grassy decline toward the grasslands themselves. At the base of that hill, a good mile or so out, there are a herd of Brachiosaurus moving gracefully together, along with several smaller types of Dinosaurs running in packs around them. The winds rushing over the land are warm, humid, but the scenery outside the Outpost is rather epic in proportion.

The Outpost itself is surrounded by massive electrically charged fences, like those out of that very famous movie franchise.

Lara is seated on top of one of the covered cargo trucks, she has a number of research materials spread out around her, along with a lunch pale and a thermos of some manner of drink. The woman had been up there for an hour or so, Steve would find out when he asked her wehre-abouts from others.

He'll be able to see her, sitting on the middle truck in a line of three. She's dressed in a light blue tanktop and shirts, evidenced by her left leg being up in the air in front of her, at the knee. She's got a tablet computer resting on the top of her thigh that she's staring at, while her right hand holds what looks like a sandwich half that she's idly chewing on... all while her hair flows in a loose pony on the back of her shoulders.

Behind Lara, framing her is a skyline of sun on her back, clouds in the far off that are lit up to the west, and dimming rapidly darker to the east.

All in all, it's a picturesque sight here in the fairly bustling SHIELD Outpost.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers had had to return back to New York. He didn't have a lot of information to share with Lara when he'd left. Just that he'd gotten a call there was something that the Avengers needed him for. And so the last she'd seen him was when he stood in the doorway of a Quinjet, looking out at her as the plane had lifted gracefully into the sky.

The plane that he came in on was part of a regular supply run. So no particular reason for Lara to have expected to see Steve on the base, striding out from the headquarters building where he'd reported in and gotten a situation report. And on his way out, inquired after the intrepid archeologist-turned-WAND agent.

Steve walks across the compound with a pack slung over one shoulder. He's in some camouflage attire, something a bit more comfortable for the flight than his uniform that he'd normally wear if they were on a mission in the Savage Lands.

He pauses to look up at Lara's silhouette against the skyline. A soft, pleased sigh is given, and then he's walking over to the back of the truck. A leap takes him all the way to the top where he can grab hold of the top to help spring himself over it.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Is this seat taken?" he asks as he walks over across the truck's top to greet her, a warm smile lighting his face.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had her back to him as she was facing the back of the truck when he scaled it to join her up atop it. She didn't know he was there, she was just staring at her work, with her right hand moving out to pick up her drink that she had resting inside her open backpack sitting beside her on the truck's roof. The fabric of the covered truck just gently swept about in waves, mirroring Lara's ponytail as he joined her up there and announced himself.

It's then that Lara's head came up, though she didn't turn to look. She just said with a warmth in her voice. "You better join me." She says. "Or I might never forgive you."

And when he does sit down on her left side, she's looking over to him with a big smile and a happy expression all across her face. "Hey." She says softly to him before she leans over to lay in to him, and to kiss him in greeting.

The two will make it about two seconds in to a kiss before a couple of other SHIELD operatives start hooting and hollaring at them from about ten yards south. They're being quite fratty, shouting Steve on, telling him all manner of silly things like 'Get ya some.' 'Save some for me' or 'It's hot enough in this damn jungle!'.

The usual stuff.

Lara will just ignore it, enjoy the kiss, before she leans back to just smile at him. "Welcome back." She'll add in a soft tone of her soothing voice.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers's arms wrap around the young Englishwoman readily enough, gathering her into him as their lips touch. She might notice the faintest hint of a grin at the calls over to them, though doesn't let it interrupt the expression of how much he's missed her. As much as New York has always been his home, it didn't feel the same with Lara away.

When finally they are both sitting straight enough to look at each other, his blue eyes are there to shine a warm smile at her. "Thanks. Sorry I had to go away," Steve tells Lara. "Looks like you've kept the place in top shape while I've been gone," he comments. Though his gaze lingers on Lara, and he even reaches a hand up to softly brush his fingers along her cheek, before he'll finally look around the compound and at the surrounding land.

"It does have its own beauty, doesn't it?" he comments before looking back to Lara. Steve slips the pack off his shoulder, setting it down on the truck top before them both. "Brought back a few things," Steve says as he begins opening the pack up.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is happy to have the brush to her face, even leaning in to it affectionately before she leans back to sit up again, her drink coming up now to sip from it as he pulls something from his bag. When she lowers the drink, she's smiling again.

"Always trying to keep this place as functional as possible... It's a bigger challenge than you might expect. But it's been good here. We've been really digging in to all of the items we pulled from the ruins. We sent some of our findings to the super heroic teams, and I heard back this morning that they shut off the power dampening fields for good. It seems you won't be at a disadvantage anymore by being forced back down to 'my level' of abilities." She says with a playful edge to her words.

Her eyes look to what he's digging out of the pack though. "All you needed to bring was yourself." She says in that happier tone of her voice. "But... gifts are always appreciated to." She adds with a hint of a grin gracing her lips.

Lara's tablet is set aside, her legs extend out in front of her, and she places her drink cannister down between her thighs as she spares a glance out toward the horizon, then back toward Steve. II'll admit I kind of like it here..."

Steve Rogers has posed:
"I think being at your level is an upgrade for most," Steve teases back to her as he digs in past a few things, apparently wanting to pull them out in the right order. The first is a six pack of one of Lara's favorite beverages. Not exactly on the SHIELD supply list, or even something that can easily be found in New York. It takes a trip to a place that stocks a lot of English brands to find it. "Though the coffee here isn't the worst I've had, I thought may be this would be welcome," he says, passing it over to her.

Then he's going back into his pack again. "Maybe not exactly summer home potential," Steve says, glancing up at the land again. "But I've been stationed places with worse views."

Next Steve pulls out a can of Deep Woods Off. "Figured a little bug repellant... nah, too big aren't they?" he says, breaking out in a grin at the small gag gift. He sets the can down and goes back into the pack.

Finally he pulls out one of those small collapsible coolers. He's careful opening it, the cold vapors that spill out suggest there is dry ice in there. He pulls out a to-go box from the restaurant that Lara co-owns with her friend. "Jonah said this is off the menu but that you would appreciate it. And it would handle the trip well," he says, passing it over to Lara.

Lara Croft has posed:
The drinks get a happy little noise from Lara, the cans being that of a Jaffe Cake flavored Cream Soda that Lara has likely expressed quite a lot of love for, and no doubt Jonah has told Steve of her weakness for those British cakes with the orange jelly.

She quickly pulls one of the cans off as he produces the rest of his deliveries, and is snapping one open when he has the bug spray out. This gets her to lightly laugh. "I'm not sure it's strong enough, but anything to keep mosquitos at-bay is a must have here... I don't want to know what the Savage Lands version of Malaria is like." She states before her can of Jaffe Cream Soda is sipped from.

Bubbly sipping noises, and a happy 'Mmmm' of enjoyment is shared before she offers him the can to take a sip of.

She grins at the cooler, and hoists the other five cans up to place them inside it. "Could not be more perfect." She tells the man before she just leans her left shoulder over in to his right.

"I'm glad you're back though, word is the Brood has been getting restless after that Power Dampening technology was turned off. People are worried something is happening because of it. I'm not sure what, but we're going to have to look in to it soon." She reaches for a notepad and offers it over to him, on the pad are a number of sketches, along with entries written in her lovely handwriting.

"Look here..." She says. "Some evidence has shown me that the Atlanteans had a hand in this place, either a big hand, or at least a big presence in some capacity... and we've dated some of these ruins going back as far as... Get this." She pauses for dramatic effect. "One hundred million years..." She says it like it's hard to even fathom such a thing.

Steve Rogers has posed:
It's clear enough that Steve's pleased with Lara's reaction to the little tastes of home. Being able to do that for her keeps a smile on his face as he slips his arm around the beautiful young woman as she leans over against him. He takes the offered can with a soft, "Thank you," and takes a sip of it. "Not bad," he says as he passes it back over to her.

"We definitely need to make sure they stay contained. Now we can fight them on a little more even footing, hopefully we can put an end to this particular threat once and for all," he comments in a more serious tone.

Steve digs in his pack one more time, this time getting himself something. It's just an MRE, apparently having saved his extra pack space for the comforts for Lara. He looks over at the sketches she's showing him as he opens up the bag and then the contents.

He pauses a moment. "I know I'm probably not the best when it comes to dating ancient events. But isn't that... well, -really- old? Were there even humans that far back?" he asks, seemingly unsure as a lot more about humanity's history was discovered while Steve was frozen in the ice.

Lara Croft has posed:
The drink really is mostly just a orange cream soda, soda being something Lara doesn't even stock in her apartment back in New York City, but she does enjoy this particular kind for the reminder of her favorite treats, and well... Cream Soda in general is pretty fantastic.

She indulges in another sip as he opens up a ration, which causes her to turn to her food she'd left beside her lunch pale. Of course she has a lunch pale that is ultra-fancy with many different shelves, pockets, drawers and zipper contained spaces, the kind of thing that only an adventurer like she would have. She pulls out the other half of her sandwich and offers it to him. "Turkey, smoked bacon, and lettuce tomato." She says in that perfectly British way of changing how each word sounds when compared to its American counter-part pronunciation.

She grins softly then, and looks out to the horizon. "All of this... undoubtedly looked dramatically different back then, when whomever it was that made this place... decided to make it here. But they made it to last. Whether Humans were involved at the start or not, we're not sure. But all of this..." She nods out toward the grasslands, and the distant long-necked Brachiosaurs that are feeding off of a line of trees along a forest edge. "They made this to be some kind of grand oasis. An experiment of sorts, I would say. A wonderfully strange science experiment."

She glances back over at Steve as he enjoys his food. "I don't know if I would wager a guess that these ... aliens... who made this place... created us too... but they certainly brought Humanity here at some point to join in on the experiment. It's all so wildly crazy, and exciting... but I doubt our history books will be changing any time soon to incorporate any of this. Sadly I imagine this place will be largely ignored, and considered an outside element that cannot ever be trusted to paint the 'true picture' of our world's history. Color me a bit jaded about how all of that works, but you've heard me rant about this before."

She smirks at him then, before she leans against him again, both of her knees coming up some as she sets her water aside and indulges in another sip of her bubbly soda drink.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers dips his head in gratitude as he takes the offered half of a sandwich. "Things are certainly more complex than I ever would have imagined, back in the day. Though I've seen enough since... I'm really not sure that there's too much left to surprise me," he says, shaking his head. "Aircraft carriers that fly and portals through space," he says with another little shake of his head. "And don't even get me started on Pop Rocks," he adds in a lighthearted tone.

A bite of the sandwich is taken with one hand, and Steve gives a soft sigh at the taste. "Better than I had on the flight down," he comments. His other hand rubs gently along Lara's back. "So am I going to lose you to this place? Spend the next couple of years down here exploring and cataloging?" he asks.

His tone is simple enough as Steve adds, "Not that I wouldn't be here with you if that's what you decide." As if he would be entirely supportive of her if that was how Lara wanted to spend her time.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara just warms up to his touch, her shirt being form fit to her slim form. She lays her head down on his shoulder then, holding her can of soda on her lap in her right hand. She smiles at what he says, then softly emits a pleased noise at the last part, almost a laugh but she was just enjoying being happily content at the moment. "I need to stay at least another week. I'm hoping to be here to help out with the infection itself until it can be eradicated, although there's only so much I can do as such a thing is not exactly my field of expertise."

Her head comes up again and she looks over at him on her left. "I'm sure Max, and Jonah, are getting a little antys about me being here this long. I'd like it if Jonah had been able to come down here, I think this place would blow his mind... what with the..." She raises her soda holding hand up to motion toward the distant dinos. "But its best if we limit the number of people coming out here until the Brood are dealt with."

Another bubbly sip is enjoyed.

"A week, maybe two, at most... and I'll be back in New York." She declares before she looks back at him. "The trial thing was... challenging. Have you heard any news about all of that?" She finally asks for the first time about it since they'd witnessed the shooting in the New York courtroom where Lara had testified moments before the gunmen attacked.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve's hand brushes softly along Lara's back and up to her shoulder. "Max was doing well, the dog sitter came by while I was at the loft and said he's been really frisky on his walks. She's been stopping in twice a day with him," Steve assures Lara. "But yes, his entire hind end was wagging along with his tail when I first came in. So I know he's going to be looking forward to seeing you," the blond haired man confirms with a soft, warm chuckle.

He turns his gaze out to the view beyond the electric fencing. "I don't know even when the Brood are gone, that it would ever truly be safe for visits. But I imagine he would indeed love seeing it," Steve confirms. "Seeing it on the videos you've taken just don't really do it justice compared to standing next to one of them," Steve says, motioning towards a brontosaurus.

He takes another bite of the sandwich before shaking his head then at Lara's question about the courtroom. Steve's voice turns a little more somber. "There wasn't any signs of why the bailiff did it," Steve tells her. "Nothing unusual in his financials. He was single, but had friends who saw him a lot. None of them noticed anything out of the ordinary with him. No depression, nothing to indicate why he'd do it. I'm afraid so far we're at a dead end with the investigation. It will probably be months before they start a new trial," he says.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara laughs lightly at what Steve responds with. "Yes. Most who have seen the videos are saying it's just CGI, and we're all lying about all of this." She quips back before shaking her head.

At what he says of the trial, and a lack of evidence to support any measures to make sense of what happened, she just frowns. Her eyes lower for a moment down to her lap where she rests that can of soda against her thighs now. "That's awful..." She softly says, her stare bouncing back up over to his own a moment later.

"I wish I knew what to do there to help, but it's completely beyond me. The man did not do it for no reason, even if it might be covered up well enough to give the impression. If I've learned anything in what I do, it's that there is always an answer... some are just better buried than others."

A breath is taken then before Lara glances back out to the horizon as the sun setting is making the cloudy skies a bit darker every minute.

After a second or two, she speaks up again. "I'm glad you're back though. "Admittedly it's a lot nicer with you here." She states, smiling over at him again. "And yes, that's me flirting with you, Captain." She tells him, before her soda is raised up once more, the orange soda logo dripping with condensation around her fingertips as she takes another sip!

"I love this stuff." She says down at it distractedly before she looks up at him. "And you too. For bringing it."

She's doing that silly teasing she does!

Steve Rogers has posed:
A chuckle is given about people think the footage is CGI. "I can hardly blame them. It's getting so you can't tell the difference anymore," he says. "It's a long way from King Kong and Fay Wray made with miniatures that they'd move bit by bit," he tells her. "Though I think those movies had a bit of charm to them that realism can't always match, either."

He finishes up the sandwich, wiping his fingers on a napkin, and casts his eyes over to Lara as she admits she's flirting with him. "And like I've noted about most things you set your mind to, you seem to be successful," Steve tells her. He turns to slip both arms about her and nuzzle a soft kiss to her lips.

Soon Steve has Lara held in the crook of his arm, and the cooler in the other as he drops the pair of them down to the ground. A few of the SHIELD agents who had hooted and hollered before add a few new comments, which only get a good-natured little wave of Steve's hand as if for them to go away as he and Lara head into the residential building, not really caring what they have to say about it.