nextgenerationmarvel | Moving In (Roxie)

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Moving In (Roxie)

The night after their discussion, Joe followed Roxie's instructions to get into the building and headed upstairs to the apartment to check it out. He politely declined the doorman's offer of assistance as he didn't want to frighten the poor guy with the weight of his bags or their contents. Between all the clothing and weapons, Joe knew Uncomfortable Questions might be asked so he avoid the whole situation by carrying his own things.

Once he got through the door, Joe turned on some lights and checked the place out. Roxie had really good taste; the place was furnished much better than the places he'd been in the last few years. He didn't even see any rats scurrying once the lights were on. The cleanliness of the place made him realize just what kind of dumps he'd been inflicting on himself since he left Colorado Springs.

He sought the nearest empty bedroom and found it, sitting his bags down and taking off his coat. He was about to figure out what he'd sleep on when he remembered something about a rooftop garden. Now, he had to see it.

He found the access to the rooftop and stepped out, looking around at the place. Whatever he'd expected this place to be, this was so much more. Joe simply walked around a bit, getting an idea of the space. He could put a heavy bag right over there, in the corner, if Roxie didn't mind...

for a moment, Joe let all of his worries and trepidations about the world fall away and he stood near the edge of the building with his head titled back, eyes closed and just enjoyed the sounds of New York by night.

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Joe knew that she'd ask where the question came from and while he wasn't wholly comfortable talking about the story, he needed to start someday. That's what the SHIELD shrink said.

He took a deep breath and paused, recalling something that was obviously difficult for him.

"Her name is--her name was Melissa. Melissa Landon. I was in my second year at the Academy when I met her. The guys wanted to go out to a bar and usually, I said no that sort of thing. Drinking wasn't a big thing for me at the time but I went because a couple of the guys liked to get carried away and I figured they needed a designated driver." he said, smiling a little bit as he remembered those times.

Lake, Washington and Donovan were his best friends at the Academy, united in serving their country. Those days made Joe proud to be an American, even more proud than being the son of an American hero.

"Anyway, we get there and I decide to hang out for a bit. After about an hour, maybe two, Washington tells me that this girl in the corner has been watching me for awhile. I brushed it off because I thought he was kidding. I've never seen myself as the guy that a girl watches from across the room, you know? Anyway, finally, she gets up and comes over to our table." he said

"She starts talking to me, she tells me her name and it was nice. She was the first person I'd met that wanted to know me before she knew who my old man was. We hit it off pretty quickly. I don't dance and she got me to dance a few songs before the end of the night. We made a date for the weekend and things went really well from there.

Once she found out my dad was Captain America, she didn't look at me differently. I fell in love with her, Roxanne. She was my first in a lot of ways. I guess that's why I fell apart after she died. I didn't know you could really love someone like that. We were together for a year before everything went south."

"It's funny, how love can creep up on you when you least expect it, and how its intensity is never something that you can prepare for," Roxie replied. "I'm sorry about your loss, Joe. It must be terrible to go through a loss like that."

She set her fork down, her food only half-eaten, and stared at him for a moment. "Do you...do you go visit her?" Her grave is what Roxie meant.

"Thank you, Roxanne. I appreciate that." he said, feeling a little lighter with that telling of the story. It didn't come close to erasing the pain, but it lessened a little bit.

"I went once, after the funeral and was told by the parlor owner that I couldn't see her. He gave me a number to call so I called it and spoke to her brother. He blamed me for what happened to her, which is fine because I blame him and myself." Joe said.

"He had her plot moved somewhere I couldn't find it. He told me that he hoped I suffered the same pain he was in someday."

And I'm gonna make sure that happens, Rogers. I'm going to take everyone you love from you. Then I'm going to kill you.

Joe left that last part out of the story. Roxanne didn't need to know that.

"I'm sorry. I'm ruining dinner with this. I should be over it by now. It's been almost five years since then." he said, setting down his own food.

Edited 2012-11-22 17:11 (UTC)

"He was speaking out of loss and anger," Roxie said. "Her brother, I mean. While I'm sure he does blame you, I'm sure there's a rational part of him somewhere that realizes that everything that happened wasn't on your shoulders, Joe. And you shouldn't place all of the blame on yourself, either. It's unhealthy."

She wanted to reach out across the table and hug him, take his pain away, and protect him from all the pain that others could try to inflict on him. But the Joe Rogers she knew wouldn't let anyone else put themselves in that sort of a position - wouldn't let them take his pain away by taking it for themselves.

"If you want to go, we have magic users affiliated with the Avengers who can help you find her, you know," Roxie said. "Sofia Strange is a reservist, incidentally, if you're ever interested."

She waved away that last comment. "You're not ruining anything, so don't apologize. I wanted this, and I stand by that."

"Her brother was a criminal, Roxanne. A killer. Melissa would go out of town on these 'business trips' as she called them, and leave for weeks at a time. She'd always come back with some story about how her family was involved in the corporate world and how she had to help out." Joe said.

"One week in December someone tried to kill the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when he visited the Academy. You might have read that headline a few years ago. What you didn't read was that I stopped the guy, though he about kicked my teeth down my throat. He escaped, though one of the MP's managed to shoot him on the way out. I was pretty banged up when my phone rang." Joe said, remembering the pain in his ribs and arms like it was yesterday.

He remembered what happened next as though it was happening in front of him.

"Melissa is on the other end of the line in a panic. She told me was out of town that weekend which was okay because I had a test on Monday. She says she in trouble and needs help. I wasn't allowed to leave campus but I did anyway. I got to her place and found her bandaging up the assassin, who turned out to be her big brother, Jason. Jason recognized me, too.

And that was when Melissa explained how her family made their money. She and her brother were spies and, when needed, assassins. She begged me to keep their secret and even asked me if I wanted to join up." Joe said.

He remembered how /insulted/ he'd been when they asked him. He also remembered how angry he was at the time.

"We got into a shouting match. I left. I couldn't take it. I sat on the information for two days before I turned him in. Even with a bullet in him, Jason Landon killed three cops before they brought him down. Melissa...she was so angry. She became someone else before my eyes. Told me that I was a liar for not telling her about my dad and that I'd ruined her family and her life by turning her brother in.

She left that night and I didn't see her again until they asked me to identify her body a month later. I guess the people they were working for didn't take kindly to failure." Joe told her.

"Because I didn't come forward with the info immediately, Commander Talbot, who hated my guts already, brought it up as an Honor Code violation. Immediate expulsion. Dad was furious, especially when I wouldn't tell him why I didn't come forward."

Edited 2012-11-22 17:33 (UTC)

"That can't have been easy for you," Roxie said softly. Sure, she'd long been in a relationship with the son of two well-known villains, but her romance had been fantastical. Joe's was more grounded in reality - visceral, terrifying in how much closer to mundane this tragedy was than any Roxie had ever experienced. She let out a low, soft breath. Suddenly, everything she'd ever been through - with the exception of the Kreenapping - paled in comparison to this very real thing that Joe had been forced to live through.

"Do you think you'll ever be able to tell Steve why you didn't come forward?" That was Roxie. Never with the Uncle this or Aunt that, or the Mr.-and-Mrs. Insert-Last-Name-Here.

"I'm pretty sure he already knows. He just wants me to come to him about it. But the moment I do, he'll try to fix it or get involved and it'll be my dad cleaning up my mess. Or my mother will call some of her old friends in the service and it'll all 'go away'." Joe said bitterly.

"I made these choices, Roxanne. I'm an adult and I've got to accept what comes with that." he said quietly. "My parents taught me that, too, and that's why I do what I do. We never think about the consequences of our choices to get involved in the lives of normal people. You, me, Bruce and everyone...we're taught that we're supposed to get involved when we see something wrong and we do." Joe said, his hand reaching out for his water glass and fumbling a bit because he was looking at Roxie.

"But we never consider what happens to those lives after we get involved. We think, we want to believe, that these people go on and live better lives and never have another problem but that's not how it is, is it? Sometimes people die even after we help them and...if I hadn't said anything, she might still be alive. And it would be hard to live with myself for helping a criminal but Melissa wouldn't be dead." Joe finished.

He'd had a few years and a lot of scotch to help him come to that conclusion. Never mind the people who'd told him he couldn't see the future or that it wasn't his fault. In his mind, it would always be his fault for doing the right thing.

"The sad thing is that I'd do it all again, Roxanne. That guy was an animal and he had to be stopped. I just wish I could have saved her."

"I'm sorry you weren't able to," Roxie said. "And it's tough that we can't go back and change the things we regret most about the past." Though a part of her was glad for that, because the chaos that could ensue with people having access to change the timeline like that would eventually result in a small group of morons trying to reset the universe every five years.

"But the thing is - and I learned this early, Joe - some things simply were meant to be, and no matter how much we want to change the circumstances surrounding the event in question, fate - or the Fates, if you're me - have something else planned, and sometimes, it's not for us to stop them." Which led back to what he said earlier, about people dying even after the heroes had saved them. "We can't save everyone, and unfortunately, that sometimes means the people we care about the most."

"You're probably right, Roxanne. But I'm glad I'm here now, with you. You've really helped tonight. I'm serious about that." Joe said.

There was so much more that Joe wanted to tell Roxie, to talk about, and things he wanted to know but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"Is there anything else you want to know, Roxanne?" he asked, composing himself after all of the heavy discussion.

"Good," she smiled. "That makes me glad. Everyone needs someone to listen, someone who won't judge them for the things they've done or who they've been." If anything, Roxie, who had so been judged by others, understood that better than most.

Living up to the name that Carol Danvers was hard enough, but having to struggle with being Captain America's kid would be even worse, she felt.

"Everything else there is to know, but I feel as though there's time enough to discover more about you, Joe." She shrugged lightly and added, "I've never really taken the time to have a discussion with a guy before, you know? A guy that I was inter - intrigued by, I mean." Intrigued was more ambiguous than interested, right? "Usually - and this was true even with Vincent - we did other things before getting to know each other. This was a nice change of pace."

"Well, I hope I keep intriguing you enough to ask more questions. Personally, I've only dated one woman. All the other women I know are either my friends or my mother." Joe said, smiling at her.

"I really don't know much about women, socially. It took road signs for me to recognize that Melissa was interested so I could use some female input and advice for future reference. I figure my new housemate could help with that." he said.

"And if you need help decoding guy signals, I could try to help you there, too." he said.

He cleared his throat at Roxie's mention of doing other things--with Vincent--before getting to know each other.

"I understand how that works. I haven't engaged in that sort of discussion in a long time. I have some basic rules before I do...that." Joe said. It took him a few seconds to realize that he'd just started a whole new topic of conversation, though he wasn't sure if Roxie would follow, after what she'd been through.

Oh, she followed. When it came to all things men-related, Roxie tended to follow really well.

"And what might those rules be?" she asked, perking up perhaps a bit too visibly.

Well now that Joe had stuck his foot into his mouth, he wondered how to remove it. But Roxie seemed interested so Joe thought it best to continue.

"Well, I'm a pretty old-fashioned guy. I go by a lot of the old rules. No kissing on the first date. No movies or anything. Stuff like dinner and dancing first before I invite someone to my home." Joe said.

"I want to know someone really well before I consider sex. I don't do casual sex or one-night stands. I want to be in a relationship with someone I care about." he said.

Oh.

Oh god.

Oh gods.

He was such an old-fashioned gentleman. And Roxie was...Roxie was...

1) His housemate (which made moot the whole no inviting someone into his home thing).
2) The Whore of Babylon.

(Okay, maybe that last one was a bit of an overexaggeration, but given her dating history...)

Roxie squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.

"There aren't many guys like you anymore," she finally managed to say. "That's...well. Something." Roxie? At a loss for words? Noooo.

Okay, yes.

Edited 2012-11-23 07:29 (UTC)

The longer Joe spoke, the more he became aware of a strange sound in the room between them. The sound became somewhat audible as Roxie's expression changed and seemed to grow louder as she spoke.

When she said that there weren't many guys like him anymore, the sound was finally audible enough for Joe to make out what it was:

His chances with Roxie (wait, was he considering it?) or any other woman, for that matter, going down the drain.

Still, he wouldn't apologize for his beliefs. He believed in the old-school way of doing things. Men like his father, Mr. Wilson and the other men on the Avengers taught him to respect women which was a very much lacking skill in this day and age. He'd been to bars and seen how men operated and it just wasn't his style.

Melissa thought something was off with him back then, too.

"I guess there aren't. I figure there's a huge lack of respect between both genders because of sex and all of the double-standards. I see this as doing my part to change that. If it means I don't date nearly as much because people think I'm weird, then so be it. At the end of the day, I want what my parents have. They're two people who love each other in spite of their pasts and mistakes along the way. I just hope I'm smart enough to recognize it when that woman shows up." Joe said.

"Besides, if you like can enjoy someone while their clothes are /on/ then any problems when the clothes come off are easily remedied. I knew a guy who went home with a different girl every night, and sometimes different girls in the same night. He said it made him feel good in the beginning, but over time, it just made him feel empty. Then it just became a habit. Sex and love should never be 'habits' like leaving your coat on the couch." he said.

"Wow. I sound like a guidance counselor. I'll get off my soapbox now." he laughed, finishing his drink.

"You okay, Roxanne?" he asked, noting she wasn't speaking.

Edited 2012-11-24 00:41 (UTC)

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "I'm just...thinking over what you said." And how different their life philosophies had been. "I'm sure that my mother would have loved for me to be with someone like you," she added, paling as soon as the words were out of her mouth. "I mean. I meant, to be someone like you." All kind and decent and chivalrous instead of a crazy, tabloid-beloved party girl.

"I like that you're, you know, like that. Because most of the guys I've dated...well," she shrugged. She'd been pampered, but being pampered and being treated like a lady were two distinctly different things.

Not that Roxie had ever professed to being a lady. Her old frienemy Brooke was lady enough for both of them on most days.

Pause.

Sip.

Blink.

Deep breath.

"One more question," she said, matching his gaze evenly. Because she needed to be looking at him when she asked this. "Given my dating history, and what you've seen of me in the tabloids..." Another deep breath. She wasn't usually this shy or pensive when asking a question, but this was different. "Would I ever have had a chance at dating you? Being housemates and everything aside, I mean." Pause. "Hypothetically."

"Like I said, any guy or group that can't see that you're amazing is an idiot." Joe said.

Her last question surprised him as he didn't think Roxanne had ever thought of something like that. Still, she'd gathered up the wherewithal to ask him so he owed her an honest answer.

"You know that the tabloids never had anything to with how I see you, right?" Joe asked. He used to read them all the time to check on her. It drove Tommy nuts.

"When we were kids, I thought it was my job to watch out for you, like a big brother, the same way I did for Sammy. Over the years, that changed. Sammy is my kid sister and I love her like one." he said.

"But I knew you before the tabloids. Yeah, I'd have dated you once I got past the whole thing about your dad and your brother." Joe smiled.

"Good answer," Roxie laughed. "And I'm sorry. For getting so intense for a moment there. I just...well. You know how it is. Sometimes you carry a torch for so long that you forget it's there, because of how it's always burning...and then something happens to bring all of that heat rushing back and this sentence is going a little sexier than I intended for it to, I'm so sorry."

"You're not gonna get any complaints out of me, so don't apologize." Joe said, smiling.

"But I know what you mean about torches. They burn even after you think they're out or that they shouldn't be burning anymore." he told her.

"So you liked me when we were kids?" he asked, a little bit surprised. He'd never picked up on that so it was new to him.

"I love that you used the past tense," Roxie said. "But yes. I did then." And she still does now.

She used to like him. Joe smiled to cover the disappointment that he didn't even realize he'd feel.

"Well, I was a different guy back then. Might even have been worthy of it. But we're still friends, right? Things work out the way their supposed to in the end, I guess. And we're housemates, now. Speaking of which...I should probably take you home." he said.

"If we weren't friends, Joe, I wouldn't have given you the keys to our apartment." Because he lived there now, too, and so it wasn't simply her apartment anymore. She didn't want him to feel as though it wasn't his space too.

"Or you could take me out on patrol," she said, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Either or."

"You...wanna go on patrol with me? Tonight?" Joe asked. He thought she might be tired from her earlier patrol but the idea of company tonight sounded like fun. Better than going out alone.

"Patrol it is. Let me take care of the bill and we can go." Joe said, flagging down the owner. She came right over and smiled.

"There is no charge tonight. My husband and I couldn't help but notice how happy you two are. We were reminded ourselves when we were young. We only had eyes for each other, as well." she said, smiling at him and Roxie.

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. We're not..." Joe tried to say, but the owner cut him off.

"I'll hear nothing of it. You two have a wonderful evening." she said and turned to go.

Joe left the price of the meal as a tip, plus a little extra, for the service.

"I did not know they would do that. I swear." he said to Roxie, by way of apology.

"Why not? I don't have anything waiting for me at home, and I figure that it might be fun to watch you in action," she said. "I promise not to interfere unless you expressly want me to."

She was blushing faintly after what the owner said, but she managed to keep up a bright, carefree expression as they excited the restaurant.

She couldn't help but lean into Joe a little bit, though. "I believe you," she laughed. "But you have to admit, for a moment, the idea of us felt pretty wonderful."

His arm immediately slipped around her waist for a moment, pulling her a little closer.

"Yeah, it did feel wonderful. I haven't felt like that in a long time." Joe told her.

"Oh, and you can get involved. I wouldn't mind watching you work, too." he said, leading her outside to his bike.

"Do you want to ride back home with me? I still have to get dressed." he said.

Moving In (Roxie)

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