6910/107th Regiment Military Ball

107th Regiment Military Ball
Date of Scene:	30 July 2021
Location:	Ft. Hamilton, NY
Synopsis:	The 107th military ball is a big success, and Steve springs a long-overdue promotion on Bucky.
Cast of Characters:	Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, James Barnes, Daniel Sousa, Gabby Kinney, Sam Wilson, Nadia Pym-van Dyne, Wanda Maximoff, Morrigan MacIntyre

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Steve Rogers has posed:
The actual logistics of getting this particular ball together were a bit of a nightmare. It took several phone calls to high-ranking Pentagon officials, military officers, law enforcement, and a little strong-arming of certain criminal elements to ensure a wide net was cast lest anyone try to show up. There were a few too many fugitives from the law and high-profile targets alike for anyone's taste, but... sometimes life needs a risk.

It's easy for some people to forget that the world's greatest heroes-- the soldiery of the 107th-- set a high standard for military excellence. Especially those without capes.

Military balls are also a strange affair. Lots of traditions, inside jokes, and secret rules that make knowledge of protocol a weapon to spring on friends and rivals alike.

The presence of a very antique looking toilet bowl in the center of the dining area is certainly one of those strange items. It's immaculately clean and dozens of plaques cover it, each one of them engraved with a notable campaign event.

The dress code is semi-formal. Many of the older veterans in their 90s are wearing suits with lapel pins and badges pinned in place, and they sit at the seats of honor. At the set of tables at the head of the hall is several high-ranking generals and their spouses.

Cheers go up when Steve Rogers enters the room, wearing his pinks-and-green service uniform and the many adornments that go with it. He holds a bottle over his head with a grin and marches right to the toilet bowl.

"Bottle of warm madeira wine," he shouts, raising his voice over the hubub. "In celebration of the Commandos making the /tragic/ mistake of drinking that wine we found rolling around the back of those Italian trucks."

"For the grog bowl!" someone shouts, and cheers go up as Steve uncaps the bottle. He takes a sip, makes a horrifically soured face, and dumps it into the concotion in the bowl which contains (at last count) hot sauce, beer, cheap scotch, wine, melted candies, and some kind of pudding.

As was said: weird old traditions. But the soldiery seems to love it.

Peggy Carter has posed:
And there is Peggy Carter. She's gotten a few looks from people who don't keep up with the news or SHIELD, people who served with them all and never knew the young woman somehow managed not to age. She's in her SSR uniform -- dark green wool with brass buttons, shoulder straps, and that neat little belt. It's a skirt, of course. She spent the entire damn war in a skirt. Brown high heels, cuban heeled stockings (actual stockings, not drawn on) and her hair in victory rolls. With the new change in her blood, she really does look like her first SSR elistment photo ever taken. She stands next to her husband, likely also in his uniform.

As Steve pours that bottle of wine into the grog bowl, she laughs deeply and whistles in approval, wincing at the thought. Of course, she has her own offering. "Oh hell, we're really doing this, aren't we?" She groans, squeezes Daniel's arm, and then steps forward as she pulls out a mickey of... something. It's got a hand written label. She raises it to the sky, "And torpedo juice. The beloved mix that the navy smuggled into the Howlers on leave, which the boys held like a glorious treasure for the coldest of days... Then promptly all got sick drinking soured pineapple juice and moonshine in Belarus when it was -10 degrees out!" Peggy takes a shot of her best estimation of Torpedo Juice she could make, nose wrinkling horribly, and the rest is dumped into the bowl.

James Barnes has posed:
    Bucky vanished for a little while as Bucky's are kind of known to do. Left his phone behind, those fancy ear things, keys to Steve's apartment and just left. Nothing's been heard from him since by anyone, until he walked through the door a little while ago with a beautiful Witchy Woman on his arm.

    Maybe not literally, but he did arrive with Wanda Maximoff. When did that happen?

    Like Steve, he's wearing his service uniform, or one similar, no medals. His was lost when he fell to his 'death' so many years ago. His hair's pulled back into a tight knot at the back of his head, near the nape of his neck.

    It's not uncommon for him to be quiet in a crowd like this these days, so different than 'back in the day'. So, people won't find it unusual that he's standing somewhere off to the side with his date.

    "You want a drink?" he asks Wanda. "Punch, something to eat?" He's trying too hard, truly. "... You don't have to drink out of that nasty bowl."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel is indeed in his pinks and greens tonight adjusted to fit him ten years after he last put it on for duty (by his measurement of time anyhow, time travel can be a bitch for measuring how long something happened). He grins as Peggy donates the torpedo juice and he offers up, a clear jug of faintly yellowish fluid. "A little motorcade moonshine," he says pouring it into the bowl. The 28th had been a mortorized infantry regiment before the powers that be stripped the vehicles before shipping them to Europe, but some old traditions remained. God only knows how he made it.

Tribute offered he shrugs and steps over to Peggy's side smiling. "Good to be back at one of these things," he says to her quietly.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Do you know how hard it is to find a little girls' dress in vintage 1940's fashion these days? .... Surprisingly easy apparently as Gabby had found out once she'd decided she was going to tag along to this party to get to meet all of Logan's apparent old war buddies. As one of the more sociable members of the family she really did love a good excuse to dress up. The button-front dress she wears could easily have been found on a teen her age way back when the majority of these soldiers were off to war if but for one fact: The brown fabric was adorned with some nice punk-style skulls with roses. Apparently it was a thing. Retro-Punk or something. Maybe it counted as 'goth', but unless one were to look close, it just looks like a brown dress with roses and odd white vases as the pattern. She'd even done her hair up with matching red and white barettes to keep it out of her face. That was about it though. There wasn't any nice hairstyle like Peggy or some others might have, and she certainly wasn't wearing stockings. Those were probably leggings underneath that skirt knowing her.

Crinkling her nose as she watches everyone start to make donations to the decorated toilet bowl she just shakes her head. "I am never believing anyone when they talk bad about my generation being weird again, ever."

Sam Wilson has posed:
    It still fits.

    Not that Sam had been worried. The superhero lifestyle hasn't exactly given him the chance to gain weight, and working alongside super soldiers and literal gods has been enough to keep Sam motivated. He's probably in the best shape of his life. Maybe it's a little tight in the shoulders and arms, actually!

    Or he's just telling that to himself to excuse away his vague discomfort. The Air Force dress blues mark him as something of an outlier in the crowd of Army uniforms, and he seems to be feeling it a little bit by the way he's set himself slightly out of the way as he nurses a beer.

    "If you needed any further proof that Cap was back to his old self," he says with a tip of his bottle Steve's way, and then he flashes a half-smile at his plus-one for the evening. "So, cheers to you."

    And of course Sam lifts his beer at that, for her, to Morrigan next to him before he takes another drink. Free alcohol is free alcohol, after all.

    It's not quite an overwatch position, especially since Sam's without his wings, but he's somewhat unconsciously scanning the crowd. No facial recognition without Redwing, but he can pick out plenty of faces anyway. His gaze seems to stutter over Bucky's arrival, and then he glances away in time to see Daniel add something else to the mix. "That's gotta be a chemical weapon at this point," he mutters.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Trailing into the room after Steve is his not quite step-daughter or rather his girlfriend Janet van Dyne's step-daughter, Nadia Pym-van Dyne. The younger Waspette had asked to tag along wanting to learn more about Steve. Today Nadia is dressed for the occasion in a Van Dyne original summer dress, though rather than her usual trademark black and red the dress is yellow and black with an intricate pattern of bumblebees frolicking across its length. She also has a pair of flat strappy designer sandals on her feet.

"Steve!" She sidles up near him after he finishes telling his story and making his contribution to the Grog Bowl, "Why is there a toilet in the center of the room and why are you dumping wine into it?" In the back of Nadia's mind she is imagining the face of horror Janet might make at the notion of wasted wine, not quite connecting that it's pretty terrible wine. She doesn't actually know that much about wine other than it makes her feel fuzzy.

Her attention slowly tracks around the room and Sam gets a wave. She hasn't quite noticed Bucky yet, which is likely fortunate for him given recent events before her eyes finally settle on Peggy Carter.

"Oh wow! Oh my god! You're Margaret Carter! I've read so much of your work with the SSR!" Classified work that a seventeen year old probably shouldn't know about. There is a momentary turning of gears in her brain at how young Peggy looks, but then she's met several people in Steve's orbit who all seem to age /really/ well.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Military balls come with a regimen of tacit rules and situational comedy that are challenging by themselves. Add a language barrier to surmount before even picking up the polyglot acronyms and 80-year-old argot for fun! Wanda doesn't stand a chance.

She will make up for her shortcomings in a variety of different ways, given any luck. Semi-formal dresscode establishes the one familiar touchstone outside her teammates and descending from one of the war's other great antiheroes, and she wields merlot and wine-dark rose instead of a chestful of medals to similar effect. A drop necklace contains one reminder of bygone days: a plain ring as a pendant, old and distorted, that walked out from a charnel-house and carried across the killing fields of Europe.

Bucky knows where to go among these people, at least those of a certain set. His lead will do for opening the door, but when they come in she draws in a breath. <<Showtime.>> Soft English, right, a whisper. Drawing on an inner store of fortitude, she breaks into her wide smile and the uncertain witch vanishes behind a charming mask. Strength for him, wherever they need to find it. "Talk about an entrance. Wilson might be off to look for an antidote."

Face turned up to Bucky, she puts her hand lightly on his arm. "What is in that bowl? Should we stand by with a pail and a few plasters? Maybe we should be informally taking a few bets."

Right, bets. With the Scarlet Witch and the world's second-best poker face.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Being on the outskirts is the name of the game tonight! Especially for Morrigan who got shot less than 24 hours ago. When friends ask you to go places and you haven't been out...you go. And maybe her dress wouldn't get ruined this time around. Which would be a shame given she got to break out one of her nice dresses. The purple silk is a stark contrast against porcelain skin and there's minimal jewelry given she can't wear a lot of metals. Her hair is up and the white streak (Thanks Bucky!) is prominent with the updo. She enjoys the chance to people watch and everyone in their uniforms was a nice thing to see. But her attention is drawn back to Sam as he speaks to her and there's a smile, "I'm glad that the fix worked so well." she tells him. "Maybe someone will stop grumping at everyone over it." she mutters as she takes a drink of her soda. Because Mo's famously not much of a drinker.

"Thank you for inviting me." she tells him with a smile. Because it was appreciated. Then she looks over to see who Sam was looking at and her violet gaze locks on James in his dress uniform. She quickly looks back to Sam, "At least if anyone gets poisoned from drinking from that we've got medics here." she muses to him about the grogbowl.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve grins and puts one arm over Nadia's shoulders, walking with her over to Peggy and Dan to help with the introductions. "It's the grog bowl," he tells Nadia. "Old military tradition even when I joined up. Everyone brings something that's just on this side of being edible, and if anyone gets caught doing anything wrong at the party, the punishment is a drink from the bowl."

This would explain the consequences for the baffling rules invoked by the various soldiers, some of them downright archaic.

"Peggy Carter, Daniel Sousa-- this is Janet's daughter, Nadia Pym-van Dyne," he tells them. "She's one of the smartest kids you'll ever meet. Don't get her going on quantum physics or bioengineering," he suggests. "She's as bad as Janet is if you get her going on a tirade about fashion."

He looks over his shoulder reflexively, just to make sure Janet's not in earshot. Safe, for the moment; she's across the ballroom and in her element, the center of attention for a group of people hanging on her every word.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Watching her husband pour that large dreg of Motorcade Moonshine into the bowl, Peggy laughs and winces, "Oh come now, a taste before you ruin it!" She steals the bottle from him, taking a shot of the stuff as well before handing it back for him to finish dumping the thing down the bowl. Her eyes are watering now, slightly choking on the stuff. At least her's had a little juice in it! "Oh god, yes... anything to wash those down." She rasps out at Daniel, regretting her curiosity about his offer. "Well, anything other than the grog bowl itself." She's made that mistake once. Never again.

Then she's about to step away when a young woman in a lovely yellow and black summer dress steps up towards Steve, and then her, calling out her name. Peggy blinks in a little surprise, still remaining on Daniel's arm as she tilt a curious head in Steve's direction and gives the teenager a wider, warmer smile. "Yes, that is rather where much of this started, with the SSR. Well, the SOE technically, for me, but... that is very old history." She offers her hand, "You can call me Peggy. This is my husband, Daniel, as Steve said. Nadia? Well, it's a pleasure. You know we're always looking for good people..." Peggy flashes that SHIELD smile, even if SHIELD is a bit illegal right now. "And what I am hearing is that you are trouble. I also am fond of trouble." She grins at Daniel and Steve.

James Barnes has posed:
    "You don't want to know," in Russian. Weird that, Bucky speaking Russian? Not weird because he doesn't know the language, it's a known that he does and several others as well. Just weird for him, in a social setting? But ... hey, good way to maybe plan the close of the evening snog with your Russian speaking date, right?

    At the mention of Sam, he shakes his head ever so slightly. <<Is this thing on? (Really Bucky?) Testing, one two? (Sue him, he's used to comms not telepathy, it's weird, okay?>> It's still ... there's still holes. What if I don't remember something I should? If someone comes over, tell me who the fuck they are, yeah? I know Steve (Duh of course!) and Peggy, Daniel and Sam, but there's holes there with him, like there was with Sharon at first.>>

    He turns his back to the room, one arm on the wall and Wanda between him and it. Looks all the world like Buck 'back then' working his magic with some doll or the other. Both of his eyebrows raise, questioningly. "That work?" he asks Wanda, in English.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Never one to let Peggy suffer alone Daniel takes his own swig too before the last of it is poured into the grog bowl, his face looking like it might turn inside out from his reaction. "Just like I remembered it," he coughs out before Steve and Nadia are there, he gives Steve a welcoming smile, before sharing a more wry and amused one as Nadia gushes over Peggy. Yeah, he's a little proud. "Hi," he offers Nadia, extending a hand.

The comment about Peggy being fond of trouble gets a smile half-hidden by his hand. "I don't know what she's talking about, do you Steve?" he says trying and falling short of selling his confusion, eyes twinkling with mirth.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    "Pretty sure I should be the one thanking you," is what Sam decides to say, after a brief pause. "It's easier to pretend I'm not avoiding people if I'm standing here being sociable with you." Which he is perfectly capable of being. Sociable, that is.

    He looks across the crowd. "It was easier to people-watch at parties when I could put on a pair of sunglasses and pretend I was already wasted."

    Then he reaches out with his beer to knock the bottle lightly against Morrigan's soda glass. "You good? We can sit down, if you want. Gives up our excellent vantage point, but, y'know." He shrugs. If someone's wearing heels then Sam feels obligated to at least make the offer.

    Just because he's thoughtful like that. And also because he has a little sister who has been his plus-one to things like this in the distant past, and she'd made sure he knew how her feet felt. At every possible moment.

    Someone working the event provides him with a fresh bottle to replace the one he empties, and Sam accepts it with a quick, grateful "Thanks."

    After he takes another drink, he sighs and tips his head back. "If I go over, it's going to be a scene," he says.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a soft smile to Sam, "I'm always happy to have an excuse to put on a nice dress and not have to deal with someones blood all over it at the end of the evening." she laughs at that. "The uniform looks good on you, by the way." she points out. She'd never seen him in it. There's a look around the room before focusing back in on Sam, "Yeah, I'm alright. Just tired and getting shot still sucks." she muses quietly. "Hoping not to get shot until at least the new year." she points out.

She looks from Sam and then over to where Bucky is standing with Wanda and then there's a look back to Sam, "You guys fighting again? Not sure you want to make a scene in front of someones date." she points out gently.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia nods slowly as Steve explains the 'Grog Bowl' as essentially rule breakers being forced to drink terrible things from a toiler. "And I thought the Red Room had terrible punishments for disobedience." She says face twisting at the thought of drinking from the thing.

The twisted expression quickly turns back into a bright smile however when Steve guides her over to introduce her to Peggy. There are many science heroes to look up to, but the work the SSR did in the shadows of World War II was foundational to so much of the top secret hyper advanced tech that followed, so of course stolen documents related to it were included in the unique curriculum of the Red Room Science Class.

Nadia gives Steve a brief look of mock annoyance when he says (wisely) not to get her started about her favorite topics. "Okay, Peggy!" She takes to nicknames quickly. "Hello, Daniel!" She shakes his hand in the firm manner of someone who read about handshakes, studied what the perfect American handshake is supposed to be, but never actually gave one until recently. "Looking for people?" She tilts her head curiously. Not all of the recent changes in SHIELD having apparently reached her, but then until today she didn't even know Peggy was still alive? In active service? One of those. For all of that she takes it in remarkable stride however. "Janet sometimes says Trouble is my middle name, but I don't actually have a middle name. Trouble usually involves lectures." She glances briefly in Steve's direction. "It's better when the adults don't find out." She stage whispers to Peggy.

It is about that time that words spoken in Russian, of all the languages to hear in this place, reach Nadia's ears and her head does a slow horror turn in the direction of the sound.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Lucky Jimmy's whereabouts are currently unknown, but Steve's sharp eyes spot Gabby running around. That's a familiar face; it's a little eerie how much she looks like Logan, though, minus the facial hair and perpetual scowl.

"Gabby!" Steve beckons the girl over. "Gabby, this is Janet's daughter Nadia. Nadia-- this is Jimmy Howlett's ... daughter, Gabby." Steve stumbles over the particulars only a little. The explanation for Gabby's origins were something Steve was still processing.

"Glad you two are here," he bids Peggy and Dan. "I've got to mingle a bit, but-- if you don't mind, Dan, I'll steal Peggy for a dance later?" he inquires.

The soldier moves towards Sam and Morrigan next, with a grin for Sam and a polite but welcoming smile for Morrigan. "Dr. Macintyre, you look amazing," he tells her. "You've gotta stop slumming it with the Air Corps, though," he says, and wiggles a thumb at Sam's uniform.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney decides to steer well clear of that grog toilet bowl thing in favor of looking around the room at the familiar and mostly-unfamiliar faces here. A few she knew from meeting personally. A few were just that famous to be recognized. In an attempt to see better past some that were gathered chatting she rises up onto her tip toes as best she can while muttering, "I could have done without inheriting the lack of height," to no one but herself, really. Sighing she sinks back down to her heels having gotten as good a lay of the land as she could. Steve was over there with some girl and a couple in old military attire. She'd spotted Sam and Morrigan easily enough, and even Bucky--Wait, was it? He'd turned around.

Before she can go over to explore further she hears her name called out drawing her attention back over toward Steve and the others. A bright smile comes over her as she practically jogs the short distance over, weaving past a few taller people, until she's standing next to the group. "Hi!" she greets with one hand raised in a half wave that was likely needless given proximity. "It's nice to meet you!" Though her eyebrows do lift a little as she follows Nadia's apparently stricken gaze back toward Bucky and his date. "You know Bucky, too? I got to help keep him from bleeding out a few weeks ago when Logan... er... You know, I should probably not share that story."

Peggy Carter has posed:
When Nadia mentions the Red Room, Peggy's eyes widen a little more. Yes, she heard that Russian as well, but she's far more interested in (concerned for??) the young woman in front of them than other conversations. "Red Room? Maybe...well, I have someone else for you to meet, some day. She... trained in the Red Room too. A long, long time ago. It'd be nice for her to meet others." Peggy's mind is running over so many wheels now, as she considers the ramifications of this. But they are supposed to be relaxing.

And then Gabby is introduced. Peggy does a double take, her head tilting as she realizes just how much the young woman does look like Logan. She stares a few moments before a slow smile crosses her features. "Gabby? I'm...Peggy. I... Your father and I are quite close. I's an honor to meet you. And I *heard* about that story. They both walked away breathing. That's what matters." Peggy offers with a weak little laugh.

And then she's looking back to her husband, "At some point, before that drink and this all gets messier, we do need that dance ourselves, Soldier." She teases Daniel. The way she looks at him is almost too sweet. It's clear just how head over heels in love she is with this man, especially all bedecked in his uniform. It might be the only time Peggy looks soft in her life.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
If anyone in a military ball speaks fluent Russian, a Maximoff would be it. Or more properly Maximova. Wanda adjusts far more easily than English wants to bend her tongue in some way. "I will take your word for it. No reason to prove I'm one of the boys keeping that rotgut down." She's quite happy to do some people-watching prior to braving the dance floor or perilous conversational waters.

<<Audible.>> The private two-way communication with Bucky means they can both pretend to know how to carry their weight in small talk. Coordinating plans to jump out the window and run is a go. <<You default to a conversational level. You'll be clear as day thinkng about the old musical numbers. Who'll hang a noose on the goose-stepping goons from Berlin?>> Da da da, da-da-da daaa da da-daaaa! Talk about a brainworm.

Someone else across the room was humming the chorus for no reason. It's pure coincidence!

She skims the contents of the bar. No grog bowl, please. "Is that wine French? I haven't met the young lady over there yet." Try to run and hide, Gabby, the witch is coming for you with that plus one. They cannot hide on the outskirts forever. The guidance she offers Bucky is a touch on the hand. <<Janet van Dyne's daughter in the pretty dress speaking with Peggy and.. Daniel, is that right?>> Telepathy can't hide uncertainty. <<That's the liaison for Happy Harbour, the school in Staten Island with Sam. Beautiful outfit.>>

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Don't mind at all Steve," Daniel smiles to Cap. Watching Nadia with interest when she mentions the Red Room. It definitely pings with him, and he slips a hand into Peggy's to ground her when he can see those wheels begin to turn. "That should be an interesting meeting," he remarks dryly about Nadia meeting Peggy's other friend from the Red Room.

The arrival of Gabby draws a wan smile from Daniel and a nod. "Knew him too back in the day," he chimes in about Gabby's father."

Though when Peggy turns to him his demeanor lifts and he smiles back with the same sort of affection. "You can count on it, just say the word." He looks around the group. "Haven't been dancing since '44, long story."

James Barnes has posed:
    Bucky takes a deep breath and lets it out before following Wanda's lead. He keeps one hand at her elbow, like a gentleman should with his date, right? "I'll just have a beer," he says once they're at the bar. Those faded blues of his land on Morrigan, linger, brow creased ever so slightly.

    <<"I feel like I should... the one with Sam, is her name," he digs a little, searching through data and files in that Swiss cheese brain that isn't properly collated or filed right now. "Purple... what the fuck does purple have to do with it?">> With anything actually.

    "Is French wine really any different than just... wine?" he asks Wanda, conversationally, see, he can do it! "It's all like smooshed grapes isn't it? With feet sometimes?"

    Beer in one hand, his other never leaves Wanda's elbow.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    "Same here. Silver lining is that I could probably pass my EMT-P course with my eyes closed if I had to take it all over again, but I could really do without having to drag people back from being half-dead." Sam pauses with his beer halfway to his mouth. "Kind of feels like I'm asking for some sort of Final Destination curse or something," he mutters, but he's holding back a small smile.

    Just the most recent of his horror movie marathon, apparently.

    He side-eyes Morrigan while he drinks, and then shakes his head. "Please. You look fantastic. Pretty sure I look like I'm about to jump out of my own skin. Never figured I'd pull this thing out of my closet."

    Over the course of the preceding moments, Sam has managed to catch glimpse of Wanda at Bucky's side, which has his brow furrowing. He looks like he might be about to start in that direction, expression set with determination, but then Steve's headed his way.

    "Not fighting. And that's... a mutual friend." He realizes that's a big vague. "She's a work friend." Maybe that's not any better.

    Sam's still trying to decide what the situation is over yonder when Steve makes it over. "Hey. While Mo can slum it with anyone she wants to here, she has at least picked the best of the trash heap." He grins. "Besides, this is the perfect spot to spy on people."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney tears her gaze away from what had garnered so much attention in favor of smiling up toward Peggy in response to her greeting. The scars on her face crinkle as she smiles though they're paid no heed. "Oh, as long as you only heard about that incident." Beat. "It's nice to meet you Peggy, and Daniel. He doesn't talk about his past much so I really wanted to come along and meet everyone myself. If you have any stories about him I'd love to hear them!" There's a pause as she adds, "I'm the youngest that I know of. Of Logan's I mean. Jimmy's. There's a Jimmy Jr too," she adds a bit too quickly before adding, "Except he got the tall genes, lucky. No one believes I'm almost seventeen." It's here she pauses taking a deep breath. "Sorry. I tend to talk a lot. I'm used to kind of filling in when others don't talk. Like, you know." Here she gestures with a helpless shrug. It wasn't as if Jimmy Howlett was a talker. Another brighter smile comes, "Don't let me hold you back from dancing, though! This is a party after all!" Then her voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper, "Gonna mess with Bucky some though."

True to her word she spins around all smiles and sunshine to call out to the appraching couple of Bucky and Wanda. "Uncle Bucky, you made it!" Which is uttered just before she lunges toward him arms flung wide to offer the man an impromptu hug out of the blue. Well she DID say she was going to mess with him. Just a bit.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia stares for a moment at the source of the Russian, Bucky Barnes. One hand curls into a fist at the sight of him and his lack of the special cochlear ear pieces had made for him. For a moment there is a flash of genuine anger in her eyes, a rare sight indeed. Her gaze flits to Wanda and back again and the anger seems to subside. At least for now, because she trusts Wanda. But there is another flash as she looks back to Bucky, <You have a lot of explaining to do. Not now, don't you dare ruin Steve's party. But after we will talk.> She snaps in her native Russian before releasing the tension. The part about ruining the party perhaps being as much to herself as to Bucky.

Turning towards the person that Steve is now introducing her to, she is smiling again. "Oh, hello Gabby! You look familiar, were you at Dr. McCoy's birthday? Nice to meet you!" Whether they've met before or not it's always nice to meet people! "Bucky?" She asks curiously having not heard that nickname yet. "Yeah, I know James. We... have some history." She apparently has stories she probably shouldn't be telling either.

And then her head is once again horror turning in the opposite direction, as Peggy not only seems to recognize the Red Room, but know someone from it?! But then of course someone like Peggy would know about Department X, the momentary shock passes quickly enough. "You mean Natasha?" She asks curiously as Natasha 'Black Widow' Romanoff is one person she knows who seems to fit the criteria that Peggy just described. "I love her, she's really great!"

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
"Captain Rogers." Morrigan greets Steve with a smile. "Thank you and you are looking much better since the last time I spoke to you." she tells him with a dip of her head. Then there's a smile as he teases her about the air corp, "I think they both have fine people for me to hang out with." she chuckles. Then there's a look to Sam and a smile, "I'd go with you...but I'm not sure I'd make things better or worse." she admits. "If you did want to go talk to him. He looks...a little rough." she admits quietly. And yes, that's in front of Cap as she looks off to Bucky and Wanda.

Then back to Sam and Steve, "I appreciated the invite. I was promised no bloodshed and I don't have to write off my dress." she chuckles.

James Barnes has posed:
    Uncle Bucky? Wait, what? That seems like someone he should know! Does he have a niece? Surely he'd remember that, right?

    <<WANDA, WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?!>> Nadia, he'll have to deal with that in a second, 'cause that's not the one launching herself at him.

    AWKWARD!

    OOF! He's suddenly hugged. He's so caught off guard that he drops his beer. His arms fall to well, kinna hug back, isn't that what he should do? Especially if this kid's his niece? He pats her back all 'hey kid' style. Those pale blues are all sorts of wide and uncomprehending.

    <<HELP ME!>>

    ...and why are all these kids so up in his business?

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve laughs merrily at Sam's self-deprecation. "Don't throw yourself under the bus like that," he advises Sam. "That just makes me feel bad."

Sam's shoulder gets a firm clasp, and he turns to Morrigan. "Don't worry about Bucky," Steve reassures Morrigan. "He gets in these moods sometimes. All you can do is all you can do." He looks over at Gabby assaulting Bucky and grins, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

"But I think we know how to get him out of his funk. You brought it, right?" Steve inquires of Sam. "I'll go over and wrangle him." He winks at Morrigan, chucks Sam on the shoulder and makes his way over to where Gabby's attacking Bucky.

"'Uncle Bucky'?" he quips, eyes dancing with mirth. "Oh, that's definitely going in the American Foreign Legion newsletter. I hope someone's got a camera." He looks at Wanda and flashes a grin, genuinely pleased to see her. "Wanda, you look great. Love the outfit. Is that one of Janet's?"

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Yes! Sam and Wanda are buddies from work! There will not be an excited run for one another in the dance floor arena that ends with a mighty punch. Her smile is genuine when they make eye contact, supposing they do in the great stewpot of people socialing, soldiers coming and going.

"A beer." English is a quick transition, and the witch actually laughs. "Does it come with a complementary bottle brush? All the plungers there suggest we might get put on cleaning crew." She moves while Bucky steers to the bar, giving a slight screen against gawking attention or overly exuberant teenagers. Can't trust teenagers. <<We use a lack of formal introductions to make one if that's what you want. Stop on our way to somewhere else.>>

Like good wine. She has a glass poured for her when Nadia doesn't stop staring and gets near. Brewing anger on display is so uncommon that it actually halts her mid-conversation. The hand sequestered on the bar moves a little, finger drawing part of a circle. Slowly she tilts her head. Russian lends the reply some tartness, but she's softer. "No, he doesn't." The smile fades a bit. "It isn't right of you to suggest he would. Not the place or the time." Admonishments can be particularly soft, but it's the most direct way of making her dismay known. <<Daughter of Janet van Dyne, Wasp. Sorely testing my patience for bad manners, regardless of what's going on.>>

The wine is turned back to the bartender with a little shake of her head, right in time for Gabby to lunge into him. Random embraces are so American. "He's claimed for this dance," she calls after Gabby. "Shall we? And hello, Steve. Just a little something I threw together."

<<Defenestration on the left window sound fun? I'm practiced.>>

Peggy Carter has posed:
A glimmer of teasing interest crosses Peggy's smile as she grins in Nadia's direction, "Oh, no, though Natasha is lovely. I mean Dottie Underwood." Peggy didn't even know her Russian name, but that had been an alias so long that it might as well be the woman's name. With that little tidbit dropped, she's quite happy to move on in conversation, especially with the promise of a dance on the horizon.

Gabby's question about Jim, and the mention of his MANY children, gets a slightly wide eyed look from Peggy. She laughs a bit more, "Lucky Jim has that many children? I think I'm the one missing stories. Let me get a few dances in and before the night is out, we'll give you one or two, I promise." She winks at the girl.

Then she's looking back to Daniel. "You should show off that new leg. Long story. You've been one of the SSR and SHIELD's best agents on a wooden prostethic this entire time. Now you are back to dancing again and you act like it's a novel of a story. Come, show me how those legs work, Soldier." As they go towards the dance floor, she gives a look to Wanda and Bucky, a little wave following. And then over to Sam, "I owe you a big thanks... After this dance." She calls to the man. She wants to catch up with all of them, but this dance has been far too long in coming.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Success! Hug aquired, Gabby bounces back after that awkward pat on her back in response. She's careful not to slip on that spilt beer of course as she glances down toward it with a small, apologetic grimace. "Oops. Sorry. Didn't mean to catch you *that* off guard. Just good to see you up and about again--" She starts as her gaze raises up to his...

Utter lack of recognition.

Even if he had been too out of it to remember her from when he had been stabbed, there was that small mission they'd been on after. Her eyebrows furrow with a dubious look though even she goes quiet for once. It's Steve's remark, and Wanda's, that finally earns a shake of her head. "... Right. Sorry. I'll let you guys get your dance in and I'll grab you a new drink," she offers in spite of the fact that the bartender might be leery of handing off a beer to her. Instead she shoots Steve, and then Wanda, a questioning glance.

"Yeah, we've met in passing I think Nadia. I hang around the Doc a lot, usually. Or used to." It's a bit late perhaps but an adequate change of topic while she slinks a bit closer to the bar.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    "Hey, I am not above using underhanded tactics if that's what I gotta do," Sam points out. "We can't all be America's boy next door. Someone has to actually be cool, y'know."

    Morrigan's suggestion just has him shaking his head lightly. He's still watching the crowd, the little knot of conversation that's starting to form with familiar faces nearby. Of course Wanda manages to catch Sam's eye when he's standing there brow furrowed and frown in place, but he quickly pastes on a smile, lifts his beer to her in greeting. "Don't worry about it. Don't want it to be a whole thing or whatever. I stand out enough," and then he winks at Morrigan, though it's followed up with a humorous look. "Because I look damn good in blue."

    He drains the rest of his beer in a couple quick swallows and then nods. "Yeah, gimme a sec."

    That's really all it takes, Sam slipping out and back again, in time for Peggy to call out to him. "Don't worry about it. Go show us all up, Peg, c'mon."

    Sam's got a nondescript box in his hands now, though he eyes the bar like he'd much rather go take advantage of the free alcohol. But he squares his shoulders and takes a deep breath, before saying as an aside to Morrigan, "My nephew has been talking about your car for weeks, by the way."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel boggles a little bit too at the number of Jim's kids. "That's a big family, guess that's another reason to call him Lucky," he remarks looking at the empty bottle in his hand and setting it down by the grog bowl before Peggy offers him the dance. "Okay fine, not that big of a story," he grins. "Peggy's summary is about the size of it, anyhow, see you guys in a song or three," he says before following Peggy out onto the floor.

"Hope I still remember how to do this," he says with a bit of a self-deprecating grin. "At least it's a slow number," he say, and despite his concerns he does take Peggy's hand easily and put a hand on her hip as they begin to dance.

James Barnes has posed:
    <<I prefer to go right. Despite the metal arm, right's still my dominate side and none of them look like they weigh much.>>

    "Yeah, kid... It's okay," Bucky murmurs as he reaches out to pat Gabby on the head. PatPat.

    Steve...

    On one hand, Steve is a welcome sight, really. On the other? Well, it's not like his best pal has a clue right now. ...nor does Bucky. Janet?

    <<Who's Janet?>>

    He plants a smile in place, however, for Steve. "Nice party, bud. Really. Kinda outdid yourself. Where's Jimmy? Figured he'd show for sure."

    Now that he's disengaged from Gabby, he takes a step back toward Wanda again. "Dance?" Please, soon? <<Getting overwhelmed here. Maybe you really like the next song?>>

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia's eyes look momentarily back towards Wanda when she speaks to her, something in the depth of emotion within that gaze speaks to something deeply personal and even hurt with is transpiring between her and Bucky. But rather than elaborate she just turns away. Part of it is teenaged petulance, part of it is her already stated desire not to get into here, but one component of her expression is definitely disappointment.

Nadia blinks a few times at the name Peggy says, clearly drawing a blank, but then many Red Room agents never knew of each other that's just part of espionage. "Is that name a cover?" She asks the obvious question of the non-Russian name in a clear attempt to throw herself into something that isn't her current tangle of emotions about whatever Bucky has done.

But then Peggy is going off to dance and she turns back to Gabby, floundering a bit, she follows her towards the bar. If there's one thing she's learned from Janet, it's a drink would be good right about now.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a bit of a sad smile to Steve, "I really wish that I didn't worry sometimes, Captain." she tells him. Then she's letting him wander off to go do his Bucky wrangling. There's a look around the room and then back to Sam, "I'll be here watching." she tells him. And that's what she does, she stands there watching the crowd with a bit of a somber look on her porcelain features.

When Sam returns she offers another smile, "Yes, blue is a nice color on you." she tells him. "And maybe I should send him a smaller version of my car?" she suggests. Her violet gaze goes over to Bucky and those gathered. Something was amiss, but...she wasn't going to head over there. Steve and Sam were the ones that should be over there. "You guys know where to find me should anything bad happen and someone needs a bandaid." she tells Sam softly before she heads for a place to settle in out of the way.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"Ahh-- actually Bucky, you're gonna have to raincheck that dance," Steve advises Bucky. He lifts a hand to his mouth and turns towards the tables up front.

"Mister chairman!" Steve bellows, voice cutting across the jovial laughter and chatter of the ballroom. "I have a grievance!" He points at Bucky. "Sergeant Barnes is out of uniform!"

The 'chairman'-- a three-star general from the 107th-- gets to his feet. "That's unacceptable, Colonel Rogers!" he shouts back. "Sergeant Barnes, front-and-center! Sergeant-at-arms, escort him!"

Their sergeant-at-arms is Mike Maroney. He was a natural fit for it back during the War, a former pugilist in his day. Now, a stumpy, bowlegged senior citizen using a cane for balance. He gives Bucky a gimlet eye and prods him with the cane to get him moving.

Up Steve and Bucky go to the head table and the grog bowl, Steve rendering a crisp salute to the 'chair'. "Sir! Before punishment is made, I'd like to offer Sergeant Barnes some help!"

Once he's given permission to proceed, Steve grins at Bucky and beckons Sam over. He digs in his jacket pocket for a piece of paper to unfold and starts reading from it.

"The Secretary of the Army has reposed special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity, and professional excellence of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes," Steve recites from the paper. "Therefore, in light of his exemplary service record-- which exceeds even Colonel Rogers" a laugh goes up, and Steve grins at everyone. "No, for real, Bucky enlisted two years before me," he reassures them.

Steve looks at his paper again. "--we see fit to return Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes to the roll of honor as a soldier of the 107th, reinstated at the rank of Master Sergeant, with all privileges and responsibilities that accompany that position.

The box is opened up to reveal a service uniform jacket precisely tailored for Bucky, with rank and identification already sewn in place, and a veritable salad of colored medals and ribbons pinned to it.

"I couldn't make any guarantees about back pay," Steve tells Bucky, and offers to hold the jacket open so the soldier can shrug into it more comfortably.

Peggy Carter has posed:
It's impossible for Agent Carter (well, Chief Carter now) to not sense the large amount of awkward tension that is in the room. Maybe they all needed some of that grog. But she came for a dance with her best guy, put on her whole wool uniform for this, did her hair, and that's what she's determined to have. "We'll be back, I promise..." She calls to the young ladies, but the dance is her focus.

As they slip onto the dance floor, she settles her arms around his back, resting hips dangerously close together as they slip into a slow fox trot. They don't dance like modern kids. Even the casual dance is a set of practice motions meant for a ballroom or a swing dance floor. Peggy moves as gracefully as a life long fighter can, letting him lead but also picking up every subtle cue he gives her. She grins a bit wider, "Not too rusty if I say so myself... And we danced at the wedding. A little bit. After the assassination attempt..." She teases him as they spin across the floor.

And then the band is quieting. At least they got through one dance. Steve's bellowing something quite important and Peggy smoothly sweeps to the side with Daniel where they can stand together and watch the proceedings. Her smile just grows wider with every passing moment to see what they are doing. As the box is opened and the jacket revealed, especially with all of those medals and ribbons, Peggy breaks into wild applause for him, "To Master Sergeant Barnes!" She calls over the crowd, leading a brief cheer wildly. "Well deserved!"

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel is happy to lead Peggy in the dance, and despite his concerns he does pull off that Fox Trot alright, with help from Peggy's picking up on his signals, before long it's easy as a mission the two reading each other and reacting without too much thought. Daniel smiles. It's an expression that remains on his face when the music stops and all attention turns to Steve and Bucky. He slips his arm around her waist as they watch and when Bucky is promoted he joins the cheers. "Way to go Bucky," he calls, as he applauds. "I'm beginning to see the men from your stories," he says of Bucky and Steve. best friends and battle buddies to the end.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    It's probably only Morrigan (and maybe one of the bartenders) who is close enough to hear Sam make a faint groan that doesn't quite escape his throat. Should he be surprised? He is even though he shouldn't be. His gaze flicks down to the box in his hands before he gives a quick roll of his shoulders.

    Shiiiiit did he just hear a seam pop?

    Right, okay. Sam's part in this is tiny, miniscule, just get in with the goods and get out. It only takes a handful of measured steps to get him over to Steve, and though he looks Bucky up and down once, his expression is friendly and open as he holds out the box.

    "Good luck with the whole," he eyes the disgusting mix of things in the toilet, "That... thing." A pause, and then his voice lowers. "I have an emetic in my kit in the back if you need it."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney sidles up to the bar with all the authority of a grumpy old man leaning one arm over the countertop. It's as far as she can reach and though she gestures toward the fallen beer with a remark of, "Need to replace that," she doesn't have high hopes anyone will give her more than a Diet Coke. Her gaze flits over to Nadia who follows her here allowing the other girl a single nod of re-greeting. "Something's going on--" She starts to share. Starts and then doesn't get to finish as apparently the 'something going on' is Steve calling Bucky out to the grog bowl.

"Ew. Still say that's gross." There's ceremony behind it though which does earn a small grin as the elder soldier comes to lead Bucky up, and the uniform is produced. This was nice. Even if... her gaze flits back toward Wanda suspiciously once again. Was it something to do with that woman? Or something else entirely?

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Is that punishment for a time in the past? Could just be for pulling off the good sergeant that way for attention.

Wanda doesn't need the wine to wear a smile. French wine is simply better for getting through. With manners called on for aplomb, she touches Bucky's sleeve. "I will hold you to it."

She withdraws back to the bar. It isn't far. They never really managed to get that close to the dance floor. Military brass and musical brass are coming out of the woodwork like bugs, about the same colour of uniform. Look at them go!

So elbow to the bar, time to be cool as an English cucumber in the crisper. It's a talent, watching and out of the thick of it.

<<Still right here.>> A casual little reminder. It can be heard through any fog of applause and hooting. What exactly does someone do in this situation? They look around to figure out if people applaud or bury their face in a bowl.

James Barnes has posed:
    Herded to the stage in a whirlwind of 'what the fuck', there's not much he can do but go along. A desperate glance is shot in Wanda's direction.

    Talk about poor timing, but that's kind of the way of things isn't it?

    Bucky stands up there, front and center, his heart pounding out of his chest, palms sweating, mouth dry and little pin point dots of weird lights firing in his field of vision due to his racing heart.

    Those pale blue eyes shift from Wanda to Steve. Fucking Steve, it's fucking *STEVE* and he looks so damned happy.

    Two, maybe three beats pass before, "Killed more Nazis than him too." He offers up along with a little forced grin. Oh, Bucky.

    "Definitely got more dames." Really Bucky?!

    "... and did it all without resorting to spandex." He just needs to stop talking really!

    "But seriously, wasn't for his lack of trying that he got in two years after. He lead one of the greatest group of men to ever wear the uniform. Lot of'm wouldn't have made it home without him. Myself included." Took awhile maybe, but it's true.

    When he turns his attention to Steve and that jacket, Steve'll see it, well, a few things. That 'off' in Bucky's eyes, that sort of vague confusion, like he's lost and adrift. He's seen that look, it's the one that hovered about Bucky for a long while after he finally got home. Two, he'll see the 'don't deserve this', that was probably expected.

    He slips out of the jacket he's wearing so he can let Steve help him into the new one. Then he turns around for the 'bro hug' and whispers, "We gotta talk, soon," before stepping back again and offering Captain America, his childhood best friend, a right and proper military salute.

    Then his attention turns to Sam, that same sort of lost, confusion. He's faking his way through this, it's obvious.

    <<Don't leave, please don't leave.>>

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan's violet gaze goes to Steve when he starts to shout and then there's a look to Sam as he groans, "You'll be fine." she whispers to him as he heads that way. She watches the going on and there's a gentle smile to things. Another moment she felt like an outsider infringing on something private. And the look of confusion on Bucky's face was heartbreaking, which makes her smile turn into a deep frown.

There's a moment taken to look down to her drink and then to the phone that lights up in her hand dimly. A text from someone, "Not right now." she mutters.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia accepts a Coke on the rocks from the bartender, smart enough not to try and get some alcohol at one of Steve's events. Her therapist would kill her anyway if they found out.

When Gabby begins to talk about something going on, at first Nadia thinks Gabby might be asking about her outburst in Russian at Bucky or maybe something related to how Gabby apparently knows Bucky. But then something really is going on as Bucky is hauled before the Toilet of Alcoholic Doom and ...given a commendation?

"I could strangle him." She broods at Gabby as they watch from the bar. "Going back to Russia in his condition.." She stops short of further details, but at least getting that bit out seems to help the mood smoldering beneath her currently forced smile. She watches, waiting to see if Bucky will in fact be made to drink from the Grog Bowl. "He deserves that." She tells Gabby.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney tears her gaze away from what was undoubtedly an emotional display in the center of the room to the tall redhead that had joined her and Nadia at the bar. The Russian? She knew a few words here and there given her own history and association with a few Russians herself, but not enough to really know what was going on there. So the exchange, however breif, between Wanda and Nadia goes without being understood. Instead she takes a half-step in closer to Wanda's side letting her hand slip along the bar top behind her back.

It might be an intimidating move on someone else. If she were a man it might even be considered flirtatious. But given her height, and the fact she looked barely out of pigtails, it wasn't either of those.

"Hi. Not sure who you are, and I know I'm not exactly someone that's known him long, but he's important to someone important to me. So." A quick breath as if she were scenting the air---Still no enhanced senses. ONE of these days, dangit. "Just gonna ask: Is he okay?" It's all asked quietly of the woman while her gaze watches the display of Bucky getting to take a drink from that bowl. Nadia's remark earns a nod. "Lot of people do I imagine. Probably why dad's off hiding in a corner."

Steve Rogers has posed:
The hug and the salute are returned in kind, both full of genuine affection and honest respect. Steve includes Sam in the grin on his face, clapping the Falcon on the shoulder. "You should talk to Janet about getting a new suit tailored, bud," he advises him.

All three of them are stopped by Mike Maroney, who jabs his cane into Steve's stomach.

"He's still outta uniform!" the nontagenarian creaks. He points at Bucky. "Lookit that hair! Like... some kinda damn hippy!"

"And why are we letting the Up in the Air Junior Birdman into an ARMY event?" he adds, pointing at Sam.

"And you're their CO, which means you oughta know better!" he tells Steve. "I say, all three of you owe the Chair a drink from the bowl!"

Steve looks down at the concoction, then at Sam and Bucky.

"Rochambeau, see who goes first?" he offers.

Peggy Carter has posed:
There is a look from Peggy towards Bucky that darkens just a bit. Worry. But he's surrounded. He's got Steve, those young women, Wanda, even Sam (though they seemed distant at the moment). He had all the support in the world and he didn't need further overwhelmed. So, she lets her eyes linger for a few more heartbeats and then turns back to her husband.

"Well deserved, but you promised me even more than one dance. Unless you want a drink, my dear? I...should check on him later, but he has people. And this is our weekend. And if we hide ourselves fast enough, maybe they won't make us drink." She leans up to kiss him, in the little corner they've stolen in the room. It's like a soldier and his best girl sneaking away during promotion ceremonies to get a few stolen moments together. The about of relief and love between Peggy and Daniel is a lot. Especially if it gets them away from the Grog bowl.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"He'll be okay," Daniel assures Peggy reaching for her hand to give it a gentle squeezes of assurance. "And drop in on him when you feel it's the right time, not going to mind, it's our weekend but these are our friends too. Doesn't take from our fun to offer a bit of support." He gives the whole thing a shrug. "Besides things have been pretty great so far," he says leaning into steal a kiss to go along with their stolen corner, "Let's do a turn on the floor again, then grab some booze and steal another corner until they stop looking for victims." He grins, his expression full of that same relief and love. "Sound like a plan?"

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia continues to lean against the bar nursing her Coke. She is definitely watching out of the corner of her eyes and perhaps even listening as Gabby approaches the older woman and asks her question. But she is pointedly refusing to look in that direction as she deals with a complex tangle of emotions herself, not all of which are completely within her control. Far from the initial relief she seemed to experience when she saw Wanda with Bucky, after Wanda's last words to her whatever she is feeling towards Bucky seems to have extended to the red headed witch as well.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Wanda turns one of the many rings on her fingers. Metal, bone, azure resin on sapele wood, and even silicone grace her hands. Rolling a plain titanium band around her pinky finger is a reflexive gesture. <<Never.>>

The festivities playing out are like a foreign language film she gets to watch in a cinema, but a lot brighter than an actual art house would be. Steve gets clapped by someone else. Sam's uniform incites ribbing. Maybe a better comparison is watching a MST3K take on the Olympic sport of razzing other people, translated by the Serbian Censor Board from a bootleg Brazilian Portuguese copy.

Nadia and Gabby seem to parse bits better. "They have vodka or scotch for toasting. That bowl could grow legs and walk off at any time now." The temptation is strongly there. Eight rabbit legs, the grog bowl thumping them on the ground like some kind of confused spider. The thing drunkenly hop-skittering off out the door to rescue a meatball and the French president from a disastrous international incident over a croissant.

"Wanda Maximoff," she introduces herself to Gabby. "It's not easy being bombarded. Your father understands then. Surprises are a lot." Hmm, maybe if the grogbowl liberated the plunger pile. Then it would be a right Sorcerer's Apprentice moment out of Fantasia, all of them hopping down the street on a sea of rubbery squeaks...

James Barnes has posed:
    Well, that's hardly fair! "Well, considering that I was *just* reinstated, I suppose that wouldn't have afforded me the opportunity to correct the 'infraction' before arriving, Sir? I would respectfully request leniency given the circumstances. If I'd had knowledge of my reinstatement before hand, it wouldn't have been an issue." Bucky points out, man basically came in as a civvie, sad that. He's over a hundred years old, but that doesn't make him psychic. "Which, *would* get Captain Rogers off the hook for his as well, but.. he still allowed an Air Junior Birdman into an army event."

    <<I'm losing my shit up here, Wands.>> - s intentional.

    He seems calm, looks collected, to those that don't know him, but Bucky's never been able to hide from those that really do. It's that crease in his brow, the way those eyes are just a little too wide, the tension in his shoulders, the twitch in his jaw. Running isn't far in his future at this rate. Too much attention, too much... everything so soon after... everything.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Gabby. Gabrielle Kinney," comes her own introduction while she refocuses her eyesight on the grogbowl. In a very teenage gesture she sticks her tongue out with a clear 'bleh' expression at the very thought of what was in there aside from what she'd already seen poured in. "Yeah that's something you dare people to drink or... punish them with I guess." That seemed to be the whole point after all. Reaching up to her hair she fiddles with one of the barettes just behind her ear to nudge it back into place absently. "Well he's mostly hiding because he doesn't like crowds, or people, or... A lot of things really. Honestly," she adds giving another glance around. "Not sure he showed up at all to begin with at this rate. But I guess Logan is usually antisocial." A shrug comes and she reaches back behind the bar oh-so-casually to try and snag one of those beers. Sadly this doesn't happen as the bartender notices what is going on and slips a can of soda into her hand as it pulls back. "... Dang so close."

With another shrug she cracks it open to take a sip off it regardless. "I mean I guess I *could* cause a distraction to help him out. Maybe. I'm good at distractions." All it would take is one 'EEK A MOUSE' and he could slip out of sight.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    "Counter-offer, I shove this thing into the back of my closet and never think about it again," Sam says, glowering faintly at Steve. Who is responsible for getting himself involved in this mess. He could've worn a suit. He has plenty of those. Tailored ones that fit him, which is only an issue with his dress blues because of all the crap he has to deal with because his dumb ass decided to make friends with Steve Rogers. Just that is a workout!

    His left hand flexes at his side, and he looks from Steve to Bucky and then back to Steve... and then back to Bucky. Sam blinks once, and then he goes still.

    Just for a second, though.

    "Hey, Buck, you know that $200 I owe you?" In fact he does not owe Bucky any money, but Sam is making big 'follow my lead on this' eyes at him, looking between Bucky and the disgusting mess in the toilet bowl. "If I take your shot for you, we say we're even, how's that?"

    He squares up his shoulders again--tiny rip that time--and looks down at it. "Can't be worse than the snake," he says with no context whatsoever, and then says "Someone get me a cup, dammit, I can't believe I'm going to do this."

Steve Rogers has posed:
There are shouts and cheers going up all around them. There are few things more fun than successfully marching someone to the grog bowl, and the enlisted soldiers are clearly on Bucky's side of the debate.

Steve's caught the look in Sam's eye and rolls with it without question.

"Okay, okay," he says, calling for calm with his voice. Steve lifts his hands and digs a thin wallet from his back pocket. He pulls one fifty off a stack of bills, holds it up, and hands it to Maroney. "A donation to the Morale Fund on behalf of Sergeant-- MASTER Sergeant Barnes, as he is *my* soldier. The Junior Birdman is absolutely correct in this matter." He gives Bucky a narrow-eyed look at his deft tap-dancing around the issue.

Two cups are produced and Cap tops them off, then offers one to Sam. "You realize this is going to be a million times worse for me, than for you, right?" he mutters.

Before his gorge gets him, Steve screws his face up and throws back the drink in two gulps. He hisses, squints, grimaces, sticks out his tongue, and coughs.

And then with as much straight-faced dignity as he can offer, he ceremonially upturns the cup and puts the drained container atop his head.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Peggy doesn't even want to *watch* them drinking out of that grog bowl. She pulls Daniel into one more kiss before letting him lead the way onto the dance floor. This song is a bit faster, but they've fallen into rhythm now. "Mm...maybe a dance. A drink. And then we sneak back to that hotel room they got us? It's supposed to be our date weekend, after all." She isn't teasing there. She is enjoying herself, but the fear of the grog bowl and the pure enjoyment she's getting from dancing from him is tempting her other places than this room.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
"You have clearer eyes than most, Gabby Kinney." The bleh opinion about the grogbowl's entirely shared by Wanda. "Another time. I would like to talk more, you're insightful and interesting. But this now has," her phone starts to trill with a restrained tone, "come to an end. Distraction on deck." A quick look to the phone changes her expression slightly, more grave. Tiny scarlet motes are floating in the endless green irises.

The shift away from the bar breaks the influence for that promise of free alcoholic beverages that haven't been thrown together from bottom-shelf of the shed ingredients and brewed in an unwashed cauldron. She isn't limited by the hobbled skirt when snapping the seam-hook on the tulip skirt, getting plenty long-legged to cover the ground.

Bucky is there and she threads her arm around his. "My raincheck has come due, and I will claim it now. Thank you for understanding, Captain, ladies and gentlemen." The pretty smile goes wide, dropping like a sickle into nodding wheat. "Can't leave the consul hanging, and diplomatic protocol says I cannot enter without my escort. You will have to settle that debt another time, Mr. Wilson."

Saved by the witch.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan's just off doing her people watching thing, but her violet gaze keeps going back to the three mean near that horrible concoction. And people are actually going to drink it? As a doctor she should stop them, but it's a rite of passage or something. Then Bucky is saved by the other red headed magic worker as she threads her arm through his and there's a bit of a wane smile.

Always her luck.

"We should go after this, Riordan. Just want to make sure Sam doesn't fall over dead from that...grog. I can't bring anyone back from the dead.

At least not yet anyways.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel is that same pull. "I think I could handle that," he says as he spins Peggy on the floor enjoying the faster tempo, eyes full of that same energy and joy as their run not too long ago, just revelling in being alive, (mostly) whole and with his best girl.

It's likely not too much longer before they slip off the dance floor, have that drink then vanish to those other places they both have in mind.

James Barnes has posed:
    ...and just in time too. "I gotta tell him," Bucky murmurs in Russian as he's led away from the bowl, Sam, Steve, all of it. Seems almost like the language is his default with the Scarlet Witch. Odd that.

    But that's for another day, for now he's barely manages to keep it together to the door and once out it, he finds the first alley, recessed doorway, anything, something, someplace dark and hidden to sit down, back against a wall.

    Even out there, away from prying ears, it's Russian. "That sucked." To the point that. After he's had a moment or two, he'll be on his way with, well... the person keeping him even remotely stable and sane in the moment.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Sam should not be smiling as wide as he is considering what's about to happen to him. What he is willingly about to do to himself. "Yep," is all he says to Steve, and then offers a jaunty little salute with his cup of putrid, disgusting grog. He nods at Wanda as she pulls Bucky away. "Just gotta take care of this," he tells her with that same smile still in place.

    He rolls his neck once, starts to chant "snake shot snake shot snake shot" under his breath, and then reaches back into the recesses of his memory to when he first enlisted.

    A single breath in, then a single breath out that completely empties his lungs, and then Sam opens his mouth and tips the entire contents of the cup back in one motion. It barely hits his tongue before he's swallowing it all down.

    One second passes. Two. His throat bobs as he swallows, and then he stares straight ahead as he clears his throat.

    "Snake shot was worse."

    Then he looks down into his cup, frowns, and briefly leans up on his toes to stack his upturned cup on top of Steve's head.

    He gives himself a little shake after and then turns to look across the room, to find Bucky gone. For a second Sam scans the crowd, but then he's walking away purposefully, back towards Morrigan.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
"A step at a time." <<Til we've reached where you want to be and who.>>

It's true for a man so much heavier than Wanda Maximoff is, in heart and body. "You did not drink that vile concoction, that's something."

There are always bright sides to be found, though she waits patiently in the darkness, the stealth needed there one of buildings overhanging skinny alleys and quiet to dim conversation into the street. Who really wants to run into a mythical assassin or a startled chaos mage?

Three plucked threads shift the odds of anyone deciding to come right that way. A medallion for getting through another day.

Her hand is offered for the metal or living hand to take.