1965-08-23 - Egg
Summary: Kai brings Steve a present from Alfheim.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
kai steve-rogers 


Steve's sitting out on the back porch of the Avengers mansion. He's got his bare feet up on the deck chair before him and he's lounging heavily in the other, his face upturned to the starry night sky above him. Beside him, a hot cup of coffee. No steam to be seen, given that it's a muggy August night here in the city. Outside isn't uncomfortable, but still…he can't sleep. The mind simply won't slow down.

He shifts his weight, moves one ankle overtop another, and goes back to looking up at the celestial beacons. A small sigh betrays his inability to find quiet even here, where the quiet hum of traffic is lessened by the property around him.


Kai is a quiet creature, especially barefooted as he is, though there is the whisper of wrapping paper against the fabric of his t-shirt to give him away. He's back in casual Midgardian clothing, though his hair is a little less disheveled than when Steve saw it last. Someone, somehow, got him to give those curls a trim.

"Steve?" he says. He's carrying a smallish box wrapped in paper that shimmers in a way that no earthly paper does. He thrusts it out to Steve and says, "I brought you something from Alfheim." Then, "Oh, we're back."


Upon hearing his name accompanying the quiet sounds of approach, the Captain sits up in his chair enough to turn his head towards the arrival.

"Oh, Kai, hello." He then looks from the present to the Elf and back to it, reaching up to take it in obvious surprise by the lift of his brows. "Glad that you got home safely. I assume Buck made it back too, by your use of 'we'." He gives the Elf a glad smile. "It's been quiet without you two around. Still…what's this all about?" He lifts the smallish box once to indicate it as being the center of his query.


"Yeah, he and Scarlett are staying at her place, I think," Kai says. "Or maybe he went up to see the boys, I don't know. Once we all got back to Midgard, they weren't my flock to herd anymore." He beams. He took mortals to Asgard and Alfheim and no one died horribly! He's a responsible Elf.

"Just open it," he says as he offers the box over. Inside, there is an egg. It's a little large to be a hen's egg. Maybe a goose's egg. It rests in a silver egg holder, and there is a matching silver spoon nestled within the tissue keeping it all safe in its box.


Steve nods, glad to hear that everyone's back safe and sound — not that there was a lot he could do about it, what with a veil and a Bifrost between him and the distant worlds, but he worried in his own quiet way all the while nonetheless.

After being cajoled further, he carefully works open the box and opens it to find the larger-sized egg nestled within, along with its stand and the matching spoon. He looks from it to Kai in blatant curiosity. "An egg?" he asks, not disparagingly but out of sheer interest in the novelty of the thing.


"Yeah, put it on the stand and crack it open," Kai says. "I got it from the village near my gran's manor." He pulls a face at the mention of her. "She was deary the entire time. My parents are out of prison, though. Banned from Asgard for life, but I think they've had enough of it."

Kai takes up a spot beside Steve, watching him with interest. "She did let me bring a case of Firefly wine back. We can share some of that sometime."


Steve brings the egg carefully out of the box and turns in his chair as to set the egg and stand on the solid outdoor table. He pauses in bringing down the silver spoon to glance over at Kai and laugh.

"Firefly wine, huh? I think Buck told me about that one time. Don't you…glow…when you drink it? Congratulations too on your parents. I'm glad to hear that they're doing well." He frowns a little in concentration as he judges his strength and then taps at the top of the egg with the silver spoon. Then he waits, slowly drawing back the utensil to see what happens.


Kai beams. "Yes, it's luminescent. It's also quite lovely, and I think it's more or less safe for mortals. Maybe stronger than they'd be used to, but it's not like Asgardian mead." He inclines his head at the congratulations. "I'm sure Prince Loki has everything to do with their release. I try not to think too hard about the All-Father being my father-in-law, more or less."

The egg cracks just like an egg ought to, though the shell is maybe a hair thicker than usual. It's easy enough to crack enough of the shell away to reveal what seems to be a pool of raw egg white with a yolk floating within. "Go on, have a taste," Kai says. "Taste the shell, too."


Leaning in, the Captain sniffs at the now-opened shell of the egg. It smells…sweet. He was expecting yolky, without a doubt, and breathes a quiet 'Huh' as he sits back in his chair briefly. He glances over at Kai with a small smile.

"I think if Thor's father had an issue with any of it, you wouldn't be present, right? I got the impression he was no one to cross a long time ago…if the stories out of northern Europe are anything to go off of, much less what Thor's told me." He then leans in and spoons up a small mouthful of the yolk and white both. He licks his lips testingly as he frowns down at the utensil and then makes a muffled sound of happiness. Citrus custard and something lighter yet. "Wow. Wow," he repeats, looking to the Elf again. "Kai, you spoil me." He then picks a small piece of shell off and makes another contented hum after discovering that it tastes of white chocolate.


"He's terrifying," Kai admits in a low tone. "Just to be in his presence, you get the sense of age and power. He's a fixture in the universe. He's an immovable object. Don't get me wrong, he was never cruel or threatening. Just, you know, he doesn't have to be. One look at him and you just know you occupy the spot you stand because he allows it." He shivers. "I had to fall for the guy who has that for a dad."

He grins suddenly. "Isn't it nice?" He gestures for Steve to eat, eat! "I wanted to bring some of the brulees my gran's chef makes but they don't travel well. These are nice because you can take them with you."


"It's very nice," Steve agrees before taking a much larger spoonful of egg-innards this next time around. It's the perfect balance of tropical fruit and creme freche and never mind those brulees because this is the perfect gift for him. "I certainly wouldn't say no to another if you ever find yourself in the small town once again." He pauses in eating to slouch a little in his seat, much more contented now than minutes ago in his musings.

"I think you'll be fine, Kai. You're not running around causing trouble here or there or anywhere else. You've got nothing to worry about. Just…be yourself but be respectful," the Captain suggests before picking a big chunk of eggshell for himself.


Kai smiles, all dimpled to see Steve enjoying the confection as much as he does. "I have a source," he tells him. "That will keep us in goodies for awhile. That's one thing I'll give Alfheim over Midgard, chefs that practice their craft over several human lifetimes." He's content without one, happy enough to merely bask in Steve's enjoyment.

He gives the night sky a look, and he says, "Oh, I bank on the fact that the All-Father has better things to do than worry about what I'm up to, and I can be well-behaved when I have to be. The whole time I was there, I even dressed up like a noble lord. I've got some sort of title at home, but I can't remember what it is."


"Don't remember what title it is?" That's enough to make Steve laugh much more loudly now. "How can you forget what title you have if you're nobility? I think I'd be able to keep track if I were a Prince or not." He's now got the egg on its stand pulled close to himself, holding it carefully as to be able to slouch completely in his deck chair. He props his feet back up again and appears the very image of satisfaction.

Gesturing with the spoon, he adds, "Here, you don't have to worry about it unless you want to. It's…we're modern around here, in a way." He means about the manor.


Kai grins and waves a hand as he says, "I think I'm the equivalent of a baron or viscount. I don't know, gran takes care of all that. It's rubbish, anyway. I like it here, better. I prefer just being Kai." He gazes up at the sky wistfully. "It's nice, Alfheim is. It's very pretty. There are some things going on politically that I worry about. Nothing worth troubling you over. But I like it here best. I like being somewhere, where a kid from Brooklyn can become one of Earth's mightiest heroes because he's just that good, not because it was handed to him."


Steve smiles wryly, his eyes dropped to the candied eggshell and its delicious contents.

"I could argue about that whole 'handed to' business, but I won't. I just…I didn't like bullies then and I don't like them now. Nothing's changed in that instance." He shrugs. The silver spoon dips into the custard and out once before he stirs the york once, just to see how the colors blend together. "I'd like to think that Earth has more political issues than this Alfheim of yours, but maybe I have some bias in matters."


Kai points out, "It was given to you because of who you are, and you can't convince me differently. They needed the one guy who would do the greatest things, not just someone who maybe could. You've got a good heart. That's the most important thing about you."

The colors blend nicely, the yolk streaming into the 'white' in a creamy swirl. "Alfheim has fewer, but they're bigger. That's what happens in a monarchy. The actions of a few affect everyone in big ways if those few are at the top."


"Ah, monarchy. Now it makes sense why you're concerned. Yeah…things do tumble down from the upper ladders and it gets messier the farther down you go at times." Having scraped out the last spoonful of the mango-and-cream innards, Steve sets aside the spoon and gets to breaking the eggshell into bite-sized pieces. He pinches off a piece before licking off the inner surface. Must not waste a single drop. "You gotta be wise to lead like that. It's easy to make little mistakes much bigger."

He's quiet for a little before murmuring, "I appreciate that you think so, Kai - about the good heart. I hear it every now and then, but it's good to have it affirmed again. I trust your opinion on matters."


"In matters of the heart, you can always trust me," Kai says. "I've been alive over three hundred years, and yours is one of the truest I've ever known. I know you don't feel rare when you're in your own skin, and everything you've ever known is yourself, and it all feels so normal. But you are rare, and you're precious, and I would be violently displeased with anyone who tried to damage that."

A smile plays upon his lips as he sees the treat appreciated down to the candy shell. There's hometown pride there. "You make me a better person, too, just hoping to measure up even a little."


"See, now you're risking inflating my ego and I want to fit into my hats still," demures Steve with a shake of his head and another wry smile. Still, he says, "Thank you, Kai. Don't try too hard to measure up. I'm human in the end, like most everyone else on this planet. Besides, I hear I can be stuffy. Old-fashioned. You really want to measure up to that? It might ruin that…what do they call it."

He pauses to chew on a piece of eggshell and speaks around it, "Beatnik? Beatnik look of yours."


Kai says, "I just call it like I see it." He tries to sound glib, but he's grinning. "I don't think I'll ever measure up to stuffy. I'll just try for compassionate. I can still be wild and compassionate."

He glances aside at Steve. "Don't you know? We're all mods now. I'll miss being a beatnik, but time marches on. I hope whatever trend is coming up has a relaxed stance on pants."


"A…relaxed stance on pants," the Captain repeats dubiously. With another shake of his head, he sighs. "Society changes in the strangest ways. I don't miss boiling food, but…that there is a new fashion where the issue is the fit of pants? Give me a pair of jeans any day, never mind what the paparazzi think." In fact, he wears a pair now to go with his t-shirt, at ease about the manor-house.


"You can get away with jeans for the rest of eternity, Steve," Kai says, "you're classically American. I'm foreign and, let's face it, flaming. If I don't have fashion on my side, I'm just sad." It all makes perfect sense to him. His math is correct, honest.

He sits up. "I'm glad you liked the gift. I thought of you when I saw it. Maybe we can share some wine tomorrow night. We'll get Bucky here to help us put away a bottle or two. I should be heading back soon. It's not that I don't trust Loki to unpack, it's that I am fairly sure his idea of doing so is lighting it all on fire."


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