the library, a familiar place somehow. he found himself here quite often, simply running his fingers over the spines until he found something that caught his attention. world war ii interested him greatly, though he can’t be sure why. he feels akin to the soldiers, akin to the dead. that was fairly normal though, he thought, relating to people of the past. wanting to protect those who suffered. so lost in his mind, he hadn’t noticed the large body in front of him, bumping his shoulder quite harshly. “oh, crap!” a loud shhh filling his ears afterwards. “i’m so sorry,” he whispers. surely it hadn’t hurt, the man felt like a rock. but his face.... that face. his stomach churns, eyebrows furrowing as he looks over the stranger before him. he knew him. somehow. maybe he’d simply seen him in the library before, but this made no sense. the guy was huge.. and... he was good looking, insanely good looking. who are you??

the junkyard had been brutal, to herself, and to steve. but steve hadn’t asked for it the way that max had, so she felt a little more sympathy for him than herself. max prided herself on her ability to make things feel normal for those around her and even though steve was usually the one running around and trying to parent, that behavior extended to him. always. that was her family. she kept that in mind as they sat in his car, hidden in the alley next to the car as she handed him the joint. she had been surprised he’d even let her smoke in here, but maybe he was going easy on her because of the broken nose. “take it.” she nudged him. they hadn’t ever really done this before, so in case he tried to lecture, max jumped ahead of him and pointed out, “for the pain. no way does driving on that knee feel good.” max grinned when steve took the joint, like she was getting away with something. she snickered when he took a hit then coughed, “jeez, didn’t know you were such a baby, steve.” 

she’d scored them free tickets to whatever that stupid creation story was that was playing, only because she figured it would be funny to watch while high, but max wasn’t in any rush to get to the viewing. she was enjoying her time with steve. the last time they got to spend some normal time together was before things went to shit at the carnival, and they played games together. in fact, max even kind of missed steve’s over bearing tendencies in comparison to her uncle jack. she took the joint back from him, deciding they’d go in when she finished. max kicked her feet up on the dash, knowing steve would hate it, and took a slow drag as she asked, “so what’s new? other than your weird link with jo’s brother. figures you and i would find the most creative ways to get our asses beat.” the tilted her head back and blew smoke towards the ceiling, “i’m guessing things are still good between you and ed? i see your car at his trailer sometimes.” 

Ren: It was Diego

Steve: It was Diego

Diego: It was Diego

Mama Velazquez:

Ren:

Steve:

god, sounding normal in this universe was truly beyond nebula. any kind of familiarity driving her further and further into her own mind. “mr america, or whatever. i need help.”