bakerstreet | texts on a sunday

We can eat on the coffee table.

[ Since there are things on the desk, so Steve doesn't want to disturb them or eat around them. It does get a little cold but he doesn't mind, and assumes that she's trying to say hi to him, which he appreciates. ]

Apparently that's what young people do today, anyway, eat around a coffee table. Hope Mrs. Franchetti doesn't mind.

[ He will help by uncorking wine and pouring them both a glass. ]

[ Matt grins at "what young people are doing." Steve seems to have things under control pouring wine into Matt's pretty but mismatching glassware, so he pads over to the kitchen. ]

I've never really known what the kids are doing these days, [ he notes over his shoulder. As he turns his attention to the matter of grabbing plates and utensils, he adds wryly, ] Don't worry. If she disapproves, you'll know.

[ Matt could probably add because she'll throw things, but oh well! He returns with similarly mismatching dishware and napkins, nudging some of his candles closer to the spirit board to make room. ]

Thanks for coming all this way on short notice, [ he adds, shooting Steve a smile. ] And for turning my dessert offer into a shockingly respectable meal.

[ The glassware is pretty and the whole apartment has a sort of mismatched but nice look to it, like it's purposeful for Matt to have picked up one or two of each item because he liked them individually, but they don't work as part of a set until you get to the whole collection. ]

It's no problem, just thought it is about dinnertime, so there's no reason not to make it into a meal.

What else have you been up to? And have you always had a - roommate?

[ He's not really sure how to describe this relationship, but he's rather curious if he moved in specifically because the place is haunted. ]

[ Steve is completely correct to imagine that Matt might find "lonely ghost" an apartment selling point, up there with "in-unit washer dryer." In this case, however: ]

I wasn't aware of her until a few weeks after I moved in. [ A small smile, as Matt settles down on the couch and reaches for the takeout bag to help with removing and organizing stuff. ] I'm actually pretty bad at sensing spirits, so I had to go out and buy the spirit board, do a whole ritual. But it's been really nice--I haven't lived with another person since, like. High school?

Apart from that, I'm helping out where I can. [ Strange loops him in on some of the weird mystical stuff, though mostly when he has no choice. ] Trying to adapt some of the neighborhood spells I'd set up back home to here, so that's an interesting challenge.

What about you? What's new?

Huh.

[ He'd never thought to check if spirits were in his home before, but he thinks maybe he ought to ask Matt if there's one living in his that he's been ignoring this whole time. There are cold spots and creaks, but he'd just assumed it was because he lives in an old apartment building. ]

Nothing. Just got back to Brooklyn, thought I'd stay for a bit. Retirement looks pretty good on me, but, I think I might get pulled back into something soon.

[ He never stays out of the action for very long, which is not good for dinner dates but great for the safety of the general public. Still, it was nice to be doing normal things for awhile. ]

[ Matt smiles, leaning back and peering as if to assess how good retirement looks on Steve. ]

... Admittedly, I didn't know you pre-retirement. But you do seem balanced. Peaceful. There's a luminosity there. [ ok thank you for that very weird observation matthew ] Any idea what you might get pulled back into, though?

[ He's asking for a friend (who is him, and still not used to the way disasters arise in this corner of the multiverse). Meanwhile, he eeny-meenies between the plates, and slides the one he considers prettier over Steve's way. He doles out a portion of chicken piccata for himself. ]

[ He isn't expecting the assessment, but he smiles when Matt decides to agree with him, though he's confused about the luminosity statement and he doesn't want to implore more than that - he isn't a compliment-fisher. He does want to know if he was so unbalanced before, but it's not something Matt can answer for him. ]

Anything. Aliens, robots, apparently wizards is the other big one.

[ Or whatever Sam had come up with to explain the bulk of things they had to deal with. ]

My money's on aliens this time, but I'm not a betting man.

[ He takes the plate graciously and doles himself a portion too. ]

Guess I'll just have to enjoy nights like this while they last.

Oh no, I hope not wizards, [ Matt protests, taking a swallow of wine. ] I never get to hang out with other magic users, I don't wanna fight any.

[ He doesn't sound that bothered, actually. He's even a little playful. And in fact: Once Steve has served himself, he raises his glass with a flourish. ]

Okay, well ... then despite our forays into divination, I'm going to toast to living in the moment. And enjoying nights like this one.

Honestly, I'm not sure when we fight the wizards, but we've fought alongside a couple. I'm sure I could put you in touch, but it might take awhile.

[ Despite being literally Captain America, it's not like he got Strange's number, and though he's run up and down Bleecker Street, he can't find the Sanctum. Still, Steve, who still thinks he's just a normal guy, doesn't actually feel slighted by this in any capacity. ]

A toast to the present. Everyone's always telling me I'm spending too much time in the past. Let's enjoy tonight.

[ Clink. ]

Oh--that's nice of you. [ Matt brightens. ] Honestly, no matter how slow-going it is, it's probably faster than getting Dr. Strange to like me, so I appreciate it.

[ Clink, swig! Matt takes a moment to connect with the present moment: Steve's weight on his couch, smells of delicious food wafting, occasional cold spot flickering in the air around them. The planchette wobbles on the Ouija board, but doesn't move as such.

Matt breathes. Takes another bite of food. And, after a quick swipe of his tongue to make sure there's nothing embarrassing stuck in his teeth, he smiles. ]

How's the rose quartz been treating you, by the way?

Well, I put it under my pillow and I hold it sometimes before I go to bed. I think it's going well, but I can't tell. I mean, things are going well.

[ Not romantically, that's dead in the water, but he's doing well with his friends.

But he's happy the way things are, anyway. He doesn't feel lonely. He doesn't have everything he wants, but he doesn't want to be greedy, either.

He smiles and then looks at the wobbling planchette. ]

Is Mrs. Franchetti trying to say something? I don't wanna ignore your roommate.

[ But he does dig into the food, which is warm, and very nice. ]

It sounds great, [ Matt agrees, giving an encouraging nod. A part of him is surprised to hear Steve's taken to it so seriously; a larger part is like, nope, this tracks. ] I bet it's totally attuned to you by now.

[ He's about to launch into all the fun and esoteric things Steve and his rose quartz buddy might achieve, when the planchette catches his attention. He and Steve seem to notice it at the same time. ]

I dunno, [ Matt answers curiously. He shifts in his seat, peering over the board. ] Are you, Mrs. Franchetti?

[ After a moment's watching, in which the planchette tremors but doesn't move decisively towards any letters, Matt looks up at Steve with a smile. ] I think she's more like, making her presence known. I'm not exactly an expert on spirits, so take this with a grain of salt, but my impression is that sometimes people want to be seen or heard, and if they can't be seen, they'll manifest in a different way. You ever seen one of those movies where things fly around or writing appears on the walls?

[ Well, Matt had explained how it worked and Steve had wanted it to, so he followed along as best as he could. He's happy to hear that it's probably attuned to him, and nods.

Besides, it's more important to him to hear from Mrs. Franchetti, who's in the room and apparently feeling a little neglected. ]

Oh, yes. Well, she doesn't need to worry. I didn't forget about her.

[ He doesn't think Matt has, either. ]

But if she does need something, well. It might go through a few interpretations between us.

[ There is exactly one downside Matt has identified to having a ghost for a housemate, and it's what's going on right this minute. Mentally, he prays, Please Mrs. Franchetti, please don't be more interesting than me to the cute guy.

Verbal psychic communication is not a skill he's ever manifested, but you never know until you try. ]

Well, [ he says to Steve, ] don't worry. I'll gladly translate as needed. [ That's totally true, even if he is feeling slightly upstaged at the moment. Matt snags another bite of dinner, then a swallow of wine. ]

... I think I was about to talk about rose quartz, [ he adds, with a crooked smile. ] I forget what I told you before. But also, feel free to veto magic rock properties as a topic.

No, no. Please, tell me everything you know.

[ Steve, at the very least, is a polite dinner guest. And it's not that he finds Mrs. Franchetti more interesting - though, truly, he does find her interesting - but rather that he doesn't want her to feel left out and alone.

He's not old, not really, but he knows how hard it is to relate to young people, how isolating it is when all your friends grow old and die. To - honestly, to be dead. He knows what that's like, too. So he doesn't want her to feel left out.

And, well, to be honest, if he had thought this was a date before, he certainly doesn't anymore with a third dinner guest. Sorry, Matt. ]

About the quartz.

[ IT'S OKAY, he can yearn! A little crushing is good for the soul, it makes you feel like you're alive as the chambers of your heart all panic.

Tragically, Matt doesn't piece together the whole of why Steve might feel a kinship with Mrs. Franchetti. He just thinks Steve is kind, and considerate. (And that people in general are either repelled or fascinated by life beyond the veil.) ]

Everything I know, [ Matt repeats, with a tinge of amusement that says that could take awhile. He tops off his glass and leans back to consider. ] Okay, I'm sure I mentioned this is a stone of unconditional love. "Unconditional love and infinite peace," as one of my crystal books puts it. And I hope I mentioned that it doesn't have to be romantic love. There's love for your friends and-or family, love for the world around us, self-love. People forget about self-love.

I think the other thing that's underrated about rose quartz is that it also supports the architecture that makes love possible, or heightened. So there's things like openness, trust, peace, understanding ... any or all of those. Rose quartz can help.

[ He's not sure he understands entirely, but he looks down at the quartz. ]

And it's supposed to ... open up doors for me, so that I can make that happen?

[ Like make him open to receiving unconditional love, or maybe open to giving it in return, so he can have it as well. Hm. Well, it's not working just yet, bu he's still hoping. ]

Is there a guide on how long it'll take to kick in?

[ Because Steve hasn't been using it long, but he's certainly been waiting a long time. ]

Yeah. Doors within the self.

[ Steve seems like he's chewing on this info, so to speak, so Matt takes a moment to snag a few more bites of his food. There's not much left on his plate at this point.

The question, when it comes, tugs at a small string in Matt's heart. A plinking note of fellow-feeling. ]

It varies, [ he admits. A quirk of his lips. ] Which is kind of the rule with magic, unfortunately. It takes its own time. And ... as weird as this may sound, it's not gonna be a silver bullet, necessarily. Like for me, when I use rose quartz, it doesn't give me feelings of total peace and love even now--not that I can carry with me into the rest of my life? But ... I have trouble with trust, and I can feel it kind of loosening me up in that regard.

[ He nods. ]

Makes sense. It's supposed to help, but it's not like a targeted medicine.

[ And it's not a science, either. And it's different for everyone, and - well, it's not a cure-all. He won't rub it and sit in his living room and have someone drop in his lap and love him unconditionally. ]

But in what ways did it help you, do you think?

[ Matt nods in turn, brightening. And he considers both the answer to the question and how best to phrase it. ]

In terms of what I've noticed ...

I'd say I have what you might call breakthroughs, or maybe affirmations, when I've been really working with my rose quartz. Things like "people don't have to understand me perfectly for me to open up to them" or "the world won't end if somebody betrays my trust." Just little things. Assumptions I don't even know I'm making.

[ He lifts his glass for another prolonged sip. In some ways, saying any of this out loud to another person he doesn't know that well is, itself, a sign of his enhanced ability to trust. What he isn't quite willing to voice is that he's never had a problem giving unconditional love. It's receiving love--or figuring out when not to receive it--that's been the hard part. ]

I... guess. Maybe if it could help me just get around the idea that I'm not going to find anyone who's alright with my schedule, and I just have to... work around it.

[ Because it's hard to find someone who wants to date a superhero, who isn't one, once the magic wears off, so to speak. ]

Or. Just... accept that it won't happen.

[ Matt frowns deeply, a look of concern clouding his face. ]

Oh, Steve, no. No way.

I mean--I guess there are some wants that you have to learn to let go of, like really specific things. My parents wanted me to go into venture capital, and that's never gonna happen. But love? [ He's not a hundred percent sure whether Steve means romantic love or love in general, but talk of schedules tips him toward the former. ] That's gonna be there for you.

Well, I've got plenty of -- I've got friends. And my mom, I think, gave me enough love for a lifetime.

But I had my chance. Met the love of my life, and that was 1943.

[ He shrugs. It's fine. And he hadn't meant to talk about this at dinner, but maybe he needs someone to tell him that it's okay to move on after the fact that she's now both married with grandchildren and also deceased, so he probably should. ]

Guess I don't know what I'm looking for. I'll feel like I'm moving on, and it just won't feel right.

[ He heaves a sigh, and then, says: ]

Can't see you in a suit.

[ Matt, who has neither many friends nor a loving mom, nevertheless feels a pang for Steve at "love of my life." He's never felt like he had only one love, but it sounds lovely in its own way. Rare. ]

I don't know if it helps, [ he says quietly. ] But from where I'm sitting, you're definitely living more than one lifetime. Maybe love looks different in this one.

[ But--Steve is moving on, so Matt will too. He's not here to try and tell someone they don't feel how they feel. That'd be robbing Steve of all the insight a bucket's worth of rose quartz could grant him. Matt smiles at Steve's last remark--more of a grin, really--and takes a swig from his glass. ]

West coast offices are a little less formal. But I definitely have pictures of me in a suit somewhere. Not after high school, though, I boycotted suits once I moved out.

[ Maybe, he could. This is a second life for him and Peggy didn't end up in it. It's a shame, but he can't blame her. She lived a whole full life, and she'd wanted one for him, too. But every time he thinks about moving on, he keeps comparing the other person to a ghost. He knows it's not healthy, and he knows that he can't live that way.

The quartz isn't going to change that. But he still squeezes and hopes.

Anyway. ]

Boycotting suits sounds more like it. Do you have any pictures?

[ Baby photos sounds dear. ]

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