1963-11-23 - Old Friends, New News
Summary: Steve and Hannibal meet up after many years.
Related: If there are no related logs, put 'None', — please don't leave blank!
Theme Song: None
josh steve hannibal 


With Thanksgiving almost here, New York City is starting to get cold. Once night fell, the temperature started dropping into the low 40s. But it's NYC and people don't let cold weather stop them. Especially since they can expect it to get a lot colder in the next few months. Hannibal's wearing his trench coat as he walks out of an alleyway, softly whistling 'Fly me to the moon' to himself.

*

Steve is in no mood to cook. He's just moved back into the Baxter Building and all of his things are still packed. Plus, with yesterday's news, he had to rush down to Washington to meet with Johnson and had no chance to go shopping. He's not sure if he would have much of an appetite anyways as he makes his way down the street, bundled in a heavier coat and wearing a scarf.

*

It's so cooold. Josh is bundled up in a hoodie with a scarf around his neck, but fortunately, right now he's not gold, so the guy doesn't have to go especially out of his way to hide. And with a little bit of a tweak, he arranges for himself to run a mild fever: there, that's better. The young man is out and about looking for mutants: he should probably be looking in Mutant Town, but his people are everywhere, and a good recruiter makes a point to check under every nook and cranny. And so he finds a corner near to a certain alley, and leans against the wall a moment, and watches. Waiting. Recruiting is like fishing, and his line is out.

*

There's a glance over at the young man leaning by the alley but then Hannibal turns to head down the street. It can't be more than a couple steps before he idly glances at someone in order to avoid them. He knew Steve was in New York. Most of the world knows that. But it's a very large city and one of the poorest parts of it was not where he was expecting to see him. As soon as he recognizes the man, he just stops dead in surprise. So to speak. "Steve?" The only acknowledgement of the weather is his turned up collar so there's nothing obscuring his face. And he's changed just as much as Steve has in the last 20 years. Which is to say, not.

*

Steve stops abruptly, eyebrows bunching with confusion. "Hannibal?" he asks as he looks closer. "What in the hell are you doing here? You look great, man. You haven't aged a day."

*

Josh blinks a moment when his fishing nets a catch— Steve freaking Rogers. Not a mutant. And absolutely not someone who can be recruited into the Brotherhood, to say the least. But still, that's Steve freaking Rogers. He blinks a moment and looks at Hannibal and between the two people curiously. But for the moment he's just going to evesdrop.

*

"I could say the same about you." Hannibal retorts. "But I know you cheated instead of having to watch what you ate and exercise regularly." Stepping forward, he reaches up to clasp Steve on the shoulder. "When I'd heard you were presumed killed in action, I went out and killed a dozen Nazis in your name. Then I couldn't believe it earlier this year when I read they not only found you frozen but you were still alive."

*

"Serum kept me alive," Steve says with a faint smile as he returns the clasp on Hannibal's soldier. "You living in New York now? I just moved back into Manhattan. Literally, yesterday." And then Steve remembers. "Some pretty crazy news, huh?" He does not notice Josh as of yet, having reunited now with Hannibal.

*

"An extended visit." Hannibal answers. "I'm still living in London but recent events brought me over to see if there was anything that concerned me. Just in time for your President to get killed. My sympathies for that."

*

*

"It's a terrible deal, for sure." Steve sighs, and doesn't have anything else to say about that topic and his hands go into his pockets. "You're in town for a while, then. We should go out for dinner. You can meet Jack."

*

"I'd love to meet Jack!" Hannibal declares then adds "Who's Jack? Whoever he is, dinner sounds great. Except I'm on a special diet so won't actually be eating anything but I'll be happy to keep you two company and talk."

*

"Jack's my girlfriend. Short for Jacqueline. You'll like her. Hopefully not too much," Steve says with a chuckle and a pat on the back.

*

"Oh, no worries about that." Hannibal says with a grin. "After twenty years on ice, you need a girlfriend much more than I do. Good to see you back in action too." Getting mroe serious, he's a little hesitant as he asks "I didn't hear anything but… was Bucky with you?"

*

"She's a pretty great gal," Steve smiles wistfully before he nods. "Yeah, it's been good to get back into action." He takes a deep breath when King asks about Bucky, "I didn't think he survived. But the truth is a whole lot worse."

*

"The truth?" Hannibal asks, frowning at the thought. "They captured him instead?" He can only imagine what experiments they might have performed on him. Or just tossed him into a camp of some sort. "What happened?"

*

"I'm not exactly sure, to be honest. Other than he's some sort of terrorist and he tried to kill Peg, me, and a lot of other people." Steve shakes his head sadly. It's a lot different than the Bucky he remembers.

*

"Wait, he's still alive?" Now that Hannibal wasn't expecting. "And they brainwashed him. Can whatever they did to him be undone? Wash his brain a second time and put it right?"

*

"I can only hope so," Steve shakes his head a few times. "I haven't been able to catch him. I've had the chance twice. Failed twice."

*

"Oh, he's still free." Reaching up, Hannibal rubs his chin then pats the closely trimmed bear back into place. "I'd help you catch him if you want. He was a nice kid. Certainly doesn't deserve to be working for the Nazis all these years after they lost the war."

*

"Hydra, but I'm not sure what difference there is. At least I assume it's Hydra. I really don't know. Any help you can give would really be great though." Steve reaches into his pocket, fishing for his notebook. He quickly begins to write down his new phone number, hoping he recalls it correctly.

*

Hannibal nods. "Hydra then. They do seem to have taken over things once the Nazis lost. Or maybe they grew out of them. Who knows." Or cares. They're cut from the same cloth and get treated exactly the same. "So where are you staying? I'm looking for a rental while I'm here. The hotel is a bit pricey to stay there long."

*

"You can stay with me, if you want. I got a small place, but it's at the Baxter Building. You're welcome to the pull out as long as you need it. Fair warning though, I haven't unpacked. And I try to have Jack over a lot. Other than that, I'm pretty clean," Steve says. He's notoriously perfect with those sorts of habits.

*

Hannibal smiles at the offer but he shakes his head. "Appreciate it but I'll have to pass. I've gotten used to living alone and would make a horrible flatmate. Plus I keep strange hours. So who's this Peg that he tried to kill?"

*

"Peggy Carter. From the war. You remember her, right? Dark hair, curls, really good shot?" Steve says, with a raised eyebrow.

*

"Still alive is she? Good for her. I only met her once I think." Hannibal points out. He only worked with Cap for a month or so and he didn't visit much outside of fighting. He takes the piece of paper and slips it into a pocket. "If you need me, you can reach me at the Astor in Times Square. Once I find a place, I'll get you the phone number."

*

"Sounds good." Steve gives Hannibal a weary smile. "It's really good to see you. We'll get together sometime soon." He reaches to shake his friends hand before he heads back down the street.

*

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