#yeah. 616!natasha coded

[the-littlefangirl]

*Waltz into Spotify, adds the prophecy to my immaculate 616 buckynat playlist, waltz out of Spotify *

[prmssm]

what do the tony's (+ natasha) call each other? they can't really call each other tony, it'd probably get too confusing ("hey tony" "yeah" "wassup" "yeah?" "yes?" "no, not you, that one" "me?" "me?" "no, you." "me?" "ugh") and get old quick. and calling each other their universe codes would probably be too much of a mouthful. do they call each other nicknames like "tasha" and "kid(do)" and "grumps" exclusively? what are the other nicknames ? (love this au btw !!! <3)

Thank you! Sorry I have no idea how old this message is. 😭 Tbh I figure it's a mix of name + context clues, nicknames, and shortened versions of reality numbers.

If someone is looking directly at you, they don't need to address you by name to indicate that they're talking to you. A few extra people might look up if someone just shouts "Hey Tony," but it's usually quickly clear who specifically is being addressed. But there is definitely plenty of "Grumps," "Kiddo," "Sparkles," etc thrown around too, yeah.

In my mind, 616 Tony particularly tends to think of the others as "____ version of Me." In at least one rough draft I have him call Tasha "Babe Me." He also uses abbreviated reality numbers, like calling MCU Tony "Nines" (for Earth-199999).

[doudouneverte]

Back to Home | Chapter two: Trapped

*not my GIF*

Chapter summary: You just had to go in and go out but nothing go well with you and your powers. In their universe, your moms learnt what happend to you and start to worry but Morgan seem to have a plan.

Pairing in this chapter: Natasha Romanoff x Teen!Reader; Avenger x Teen!Reader; Doctor Strange x Teen!Reader; America Chavez x Teen!Reader; Peter Parker x Teen!Reader; (variant)WandaNat & family

Note: in this chapter and for the rest of the serie all sentence between [...] are translate from sokovian/romanian and all sentence between (...) are translate from russian.

Warning: i use google translate so if you speak russian or romanian don't hesitate to let met know if there are errors

| chapter one | serie masterlist | chapter three |

[Earth 616 - Avenger Tower, 15 minutes before you enter the lab]

"So, if I heard correctly, you want to bring her back and let her join the team again?" Tony asked Steve.

A few minutes earlier, Captain America had ordered a meeting; almost all the Avengers were here except for Clint and Thor. The topic of this meeting? Wanda Maximoff. Since what happened at Westview, nobody could contact her, and it's an understatement to say they were shocked to learn she almost killed a teenager to find her nonexistent sons.

"It's rare, but I agree with Tony here. She almost kills a child." Sam said.

"Yes, but we need to be honest; she was the most powerful Avenger, and with Thor, who went with the Guardians, she's the most powerful human on this planet." Steve replied.

"Yeah, but I think you don't know what that mean. We enrolled her after all the Ultron because she wanted to change, but now, she is what we all feared in Sokovia. A powerful witch who killed a super soldier and another Captain Marvel in another universe, and she didn't use her own body. What do you think she can do to us if we upset her?" The billionaire said. And Natasha scuffed.

"You don't mind when it comes to Thor," she replied.

"Because Thor is an avenger who's almost born to protect the earth." he argued.

"She is an avenger too." the woman countered.

"She WAS." Tony spoke harshly. "She was still an avenger after what she did in Westview, but she stopped to be one of us when she did what she did to a fucking SIXTEEN-years-old girl."

"Listen, Tony, we all make mistakes before we become avengers." Bucky said this time.

"No, it's totally a different story, Bucky." The falcon interrupted his friend, "You, you did what you did before and after you decided to be good persons. But she did all the bad things after she became an Avenger." he explained. Honestly, it was understandable, they were afraid. The old Wanda, who tried her best to make up for her past with Hydra, the same who had a pretty romance was gone now. Vision, maybe—

"She did that because she lost all the people she loved," the Black Widow replied. "I'm not saying her actions are justified, but I dealt with death; I don't even know how you could bring me back. But what I'm saying is that I know why she did that." she said. "If it was Pepper who died this day, what could you do?" she asked.

"Don't play this game with me, Romanoff. I know how to deal with death." Tony replied.

"That's why you hated your father." Natasha said, and the billionaire started to be angry. He wanted to argue, but he was stopped by the IA.

"Boss, it seems there is an intruder in the lab." Friday announced.

"Can you tell me who they are?" he asked.

"The facial recognition doesn't work, but judging their clothes, it's Miss. Maximoff." she said, and everyone looked at each other totally shocked. Why would she come here? And precisely in the lab?

Without a word, they all made their way to the lab. Tony equipped his new suit; Steve grabbed his shield; Bucky, his knife; Natasha put her widow bites on her wrist before grabbing a gun with Sam and Banner, was ready for green code. The lab's door slid open without a sound. When they were ready to arrest whoever was in front of them, they heard you say proudly. "Oh yeah, I did it."

"Oh, and what exactly did you do?" Tony asked, and his voice surprised you. You quickly reassemble your widow bites before turning around and facing the Avenger.

"O der'mo (oh crap)," you mumbled. "Uh, wait, guys, I’m not here to fight or anything." you said, and their only answer was to hold up their weapons to you. And you thought it couldn't get worse; you saw red magic around your hand; your eyes turned red; but you were oblivious. Iron Man wanted to blast you, but your magic reacted in time, and a red whip sent him away against a wall. "Sorry," you said. But you knew they'd not accept your excuse.

Captain America threw you his shield, but you unconsciously stopped it and sent him back, thankfully, he didn't end up like Captain Carter, the shield just hit his head and fell on his buttocks. You didn't have to apologize this time; the Winter Soldier attacked you. He was too fast to use your magic without hurting yourself, so your body moved itself. All the training sessions with him and your mom in your universe seem to have taken control of your body, and you easily put him down.

You were just on your feet again, and Sam and Natasha started to shoot you. They definitely saw that you were not an ordinary teen. Your magic activated himself again and blocked the bullet, giving you a relief sight, but the bullet abruptly changed her direction to the two Avenger. "No! Stop!" you yelled, and the bullet just fell to the ground. Okay, there was definitely a problem with your magic, but you didn't have time to think about it before the Falcon rushed to you. It was not a surprise when you knocked him out beside Bucky, but what was surprising, at least for the Black Widow, was that you used her special move. She engaged the fight, but she was more careful than her teammate; she was winning when your magic decided to not listen to you again and a powerful red wave of chaos magic sent her crashing onto the opposite wall.

You watched what you did; did you just win against the Avenger? Wow, it was certainly something you would tell to—. Your body collided with a wall brutally, and you instantly passed out. You forget the Hulk.

------

[Earth 717 - Avenger Tower, two hours after your disappearance]

Heavy footsteps could be heard in the lab; they didn't need to ask Friday, they already knew who they were. The door opened to show an angry Natasha and a worried Wanda. "Where is Y/n, Morgan?" the Russian asked, but the teen didn't find the courage to face her. "America? Peter? Where is my baby girl?" she asked again, but this time she couldn't hide her cries.

"We lost her," America said lowly.

"What do you mean by saying you lost her?" Natasha said. "She's a teenager who wears a fucking scarlet suit; how can you lose her?" she added, obviously angry by the response of the older brunette girl. Wanda couldn't keep the tears from streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey, Natasha, please calm down; we will explain," Peter said softly, and your moms did.

After they explained what had happened on the mission, the Sokovian was officially falling apart, and the Russian was afraid but so angry. "How can you lose her in the multiverse?" she asked.

"The time machine exploded before I could close the portal, and I was sent to another universe too. When I came back, Morgan told me what happened, and I searched for her for an hour and a half, but I couldn't find her. Even if I focused on her. I was sent to some universe where there was a Y/n, but they were not the right." she admitted.

"We need to find her." Wanda said for the first time, she was unstable visibly very worry.

"Hey, it's okay, my love?" Natasha asked, but her wife shook her head.

"I can't feel her, Natasha." she said, and Natasha seemed to understand. "I don't know if my little angel is alright. I can't feel her." She cried harder. "I can't feel her," she repeated. "Why can't I feel her?" she asked her wife, but the redhead didn't have an answer. It was something Natasha didn't fully understand, since when you kicked Wanda's belly for the first time, a bond was created between you and your mama. You were always able to feel the other, even if sometimes you hated that it was reassuring you, when you developed your power at five years old. Your moms don't stop being avengers until you were ten, so during the five years you used this special bond to make sure she was alright every time she left.

"Don't worry, Auntie Wanda. I may have a solution to locate her wherever she is." Morgan announced, and everybody looked at her and seemed to wait for an explanation. "I made her new widow bites since she broke the previous. And I decided to add a tracker who worked in the entire multiverse. That's mean when she will use them, I will be alert." she explained, and it seemed to low your mom worries a little.

"Thanks, you Morgan," Natasha said, and the girl smiled,

"Of course, auntie Nat, she's my best friend too. I will do anything to find her," she assured them. "But for now we can't do anything more. I’ll call my dad and see if he can help me, and America will alert Strange." she said, turning to Peter. "Peter, you'll bring Khrono and the red Goblin to the cops." she said, and he nodded.

~~

"How is it even possible to lose her?" Tony asked her daughter, and Morgan sighed.

"Honestly, I don't know; it all happened too quickly." she said.

"And how are they?" he asked.

"Not good. Auntie Wanda didn't stop crying; auntie Natasha called Yelena and Kate to inform them. Wanda should call Pietro soon," she explained.

"And how are you?" he asked again.

"I don't know. I'm angry at myself for not being able to save her." she replied, and some tears started to fall on her cheeks. "But I need to be strong, because when Pietro comes he will bring Luna, and I will need all i have to not let her miss her cousin." she said, and she chuckled.

"We'll be here this night," he said, and she smiled, "I love you Morgan." He added,

"Me too, dad, more than 3000." She said, and they both chuckled.

"Yeah, more than 3,000," he repeated before hanging on.

"Who was it?" Pepper asked when she entered the bedroom.

"Morgan," Tony replied, and the blonde woman frowned her eyebrows.

"Is she okay?" she asked worriedly, but her husband nodded.

"Her yeah, but they lost Y/n on their last mission," he confessed, and Pepper almost fell apart, but Tony caught her before. "Hey, it's okay. We will leave in one hour, Morgan needs me to help her." he said, and the tall woman nodded.

~~

In Ohio, Melina was on the couch in front of a picture of you. She took it when you celebrated your seventh birthday there, you pleaded for an entire week to convince your mom, but it was worth it; it was one of the best birthdays you had. Your grandma was too focused on your face in the picture to hear Alexei came back until he sat beside her and wiped a tear with his thumb. She looked at him, and she cried. He didn't say anything; he just let her use his chest for support.

After a moment, she raised her head and looked at the frame and at him, "They lost her." she said, and immediately placed her again against his chest. She didn't see it, but she felt it, the Red Guardian was crying as well.

~~

"But how? I mean, we all know she's reckless and she's started a rebellious phase, but how can it be possible?" Pietro asked. He just came with his daughter, Luna, and with Yelena and Kate.

"You're sure you search everywhere?" the blond asked America. With all the time she lives here, her accent slowly fades like the twins'. The brunette just nodded, and everybody sighed. Kate sat next to Wanda and gently rubbed her back.

"It's okay, we will find her." she said. The brunette was always optimistic when it involved you, but for the first time she started to doubt.

'Morgan was in her lab, she was working on the last details for your new widow bite, when her phone rang.

"Miss. Stark, Y/n try to call you." Friday informed her, and the teen picked up the phone.

"Hey, Y/n/n, are you okay?" she asked, but you didn't reply; you just sobbed, and she immediately worried. "Y/n. What's happening?" she asked, more anxious this time.

"We fought again," you replied, and she sighed. "Can I sleep in the tower tonight?" you asked shyly.

"Yeah, of course. You know you don't have to ask; the door is always open." she replied.

"Thanks, Morgan." you said quietly.

"Always." she said, and after that she hung on. You were in front of the tower in less than ten minutes, and she greeted you with a tight hug while you sobbed against her chest. "It's really that bad?" she asked, and you nodded. She led you to the kitchen when you told her everything.

"I don't deserve them." you concluded your monologue.

"Don't say that you were just angry. I say awful things to my dad when I'm angry too." she reassured you.

"Yeah, but you never said that he didn't deserve to be a dad," you said, and you chocked with saliva at the memory of your mom's face when you said that. "I really hurt them this time. Most of anything or anyone. I'm sure they started to miss their time with the Red Room and Hydra when they didn't have to raise a girl like me." you added. Morgan stood up to hug you.

"Don't say that. We both know you don't mean it." she whispered to calm you.

"And if I mean it," you said. She tried to protest, but you stopped her. "You should see their faces. I'm a bad daughter." you added and started to cry again.

"Shh... Just go take a shower and sleep, and we will talk about it tomorrow," she said, and you nodded. You left the kitchen, and Morgan just stared at you. She started to think about a plan to cheer you up a little.'

Knocks on her door bring her back into reality. "Hey sweetheart are you alright?" Pepper looked visibly concerned.

Your best friend cleaned up the tears that fell because of the memory, "Yeah, don't worry, mom. It's just that... all this stuff, I don't know what to do." she admitted, and the tall woman received the message and hugged her.

"You'll find a way to bring her back like you always have since the last three years." her mother whispered in her ear. "I'll stay with Wanda; your dad should be here soon," the blonde woman informed her, and she started to leave but was stopped by the voice of the teen.

"Mom?" Morgan called her, and Pepper looked at her, "I love you." she said, and her mom smiled.

"I love you too."

------

[Earth 616 - Avenger Tower, the next morning]

What's left of the Avengers was in the kitchen, where there was a tense silence. They were all reflecting on the previous night, when everything had happened so quickly. Some footsteps let them hear them and enter the room; it was Doctor Cho. "I finished patching up her wounds; I don't know how she could fight when she was stabbed in the abdomen. She's young but pretty strong." she said, and she picked something up from her pocket. "I don't know if you want this, but I think we shouldn't throw it." she added, and let the widow bite on the table. "I changed her clothes, and we moved her into the special room like you wanted. I'll leave, but I should be here tomorrow to check her injuries." she informed them and left.

All eyes were now on the weapon on the table. Only one question was on their minds: who are you? They exchanged looks before looked at the redhead. "So, nobody wants to talk about it?" Sam broke the silence.

"What do you want to talk about? That a mysterious girl found a way to enter the tower without alerting Friday? Or the fact that she wore the same clothes as Wanda? Or the fact that she has the widow's special weapon?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"And if we talk about the fact, she easily laid down five Avengers?" Bruce said, and everyone glared at him. "What? If I wasn't here, she would escape." he added.

"You knocked out a poor little girl." Bucky said.

"A girl who can knock out two super soldiers is not 'a poor little girl'." The big man said.

"Talking about it." Steve said, and everybody looked at him. "Do you know her, Natasha?" he asked, and all the men looked at her.

"Yeah, she fought like a widow," Sam added.

"No, she didn't fight like a widow." Natasha said, and they were confused. "She just fights like me," she added.

Bucky wanted to talk, but Friday cut him off. "Mr. Stark, Doctor Strange is here." she announced, and everyone was confused. Why would he come here suddenly. Tony didn't have the time to ask the IA why he was here before the sorcerer appeared in the room. But he was not alone; there was a boy in a blue and red costume and a girl with a jean vest; they knew the girl but not the boy.

"So, where is she, Spider-Man?" Strange asked without even acknowledging the other adults.

"We're happy to see you too, mister magician," the billionaire said. And, Strange finally noticed everyone.

"Nice to see you alive, Stark, but I thought Miss Romanoff was... you know?" he said, and Natasha just sighed.

"And who are they?" Steve asked while pointing at the two teens.

"I’m Peter—uh, I'm Spider-Man," Peter said.

"Oh, the little spider boy who plays the hero in New York." Sam said, and the other avengers looked at him. "What? You don't watch the TV." he added, and the boy nodded shyly

"And you?" Bucky asked the brunette girl.

"I'm America Chavez." she replied.

"Okay, but what are you doing here?" the blonde super soldier asked.

"The boy said someone wanted to talk to me, and this person should be here." Stephen explained.

"So, the little teen who broke into my tower and knocked out the two super soldiers was yours?" Tony asked, but the sorcerer frown his eyebrows.

"What, don’t you know her?" Natasha asked, and he shook his head.

"We didn't tell me her name, but if she's here, I assumed she was a new recruit." he replied.

Sam wanted to talk, but the IA spoke again. "Avengers, the mysterious girl is awake," she informed them. They didn't waste any time and walked to where you were. For everyone, you just looked lost in this room alone, but for Steve, something seemed familiar.

You looked at the group and noticed Strange, "Hey doc." You greeted him, and before he could reply, you noticed America, well, a young America. "Oh, I didn’t see that coming." you said, and the ones who were in Sokovia looked at you, shocked by your words. "O naiba, încep să vorbesc ca unchiul Pietro [Oh crap, I start to talk like Uncle Pietro]." you mumbled to yourself.

"What did you say?" Steve asked, and you looked at him. "What did you say before you spoke in another language?" he repeated.

"Oh that? Oh, it's nothing, don't worry. I say that sometimes when something happens. Mama says it's a family thing." you said, and you lowered your head at the memory of your mama.

Tony cleared his throat and brought you into reality. "I think we all want to know who are you and what you want." he said.

[phdna]

Curious about your thoughts as a long time comic fan: what do you think of the whole White Wolf narrative that marvel seems to be taking with Bucky in the MCU?

I simply love him and his arc as the WS in the comics, and am unsure about making him the white wolf, even though it's very clear that his journey to becoming the Winter Soldier in the movies is quite different from the comics. Idk, what do you think?

Yeah, so. I do have Thoughts about it. I started writing about it and ended up writing you a whole novel, sorry lol

The tl;dr version would be that I don’t know that I vibe with the White Wolf thing. The longer version... is long.

Since I grew up reading about perma-dead Bucky, his Winter Soldier arc in the comics was always going to be a hard sell for me - how can you convince me that undoing decades of canon is Actually A Good Choice and not just a gimmick? Ultimately, what won me over is how careful Brubaker was to pick a theme and follow it across its many facets. We see Bucky as a child struggling with the shame and regret of feeling like he can’t live up to his father’s orders. We see Bucky as a teenager being trained to follow whatever cruel order the army gives him because it’s For The Greater Good, and at the same time, we see how desperate he is for Steve’s approval at all times and how that’s tied up in his head with respect and authority and a lot of unresolved issues with his father. Then comes the Winter Soldier, and Bucky’s entire existence becomes about following orders, even though there are some orders he can’t be made to follow. Then comes the BuckyCap days, in which he more or less feels like he has no choice but to pick up the shield, but he starts exploring his agency in small and big ways. And then he becomes the Winter Soldier again, but - crucially - this time he’s taking the name that represents him at his most powerless and he’s reclaiming it in a wonderful way because only Bucky can be the Winter Soldier - there’s no other hero I can think of who has the gruesome skills and the modus operandi of an antihero combined with the idealistic, almost naive attitude of a Golden Age hero. For me it works because it’s amazing to have Bucky figure out that his identity includes everything he’s ever been while at the same time being something he can choose by himself according to what he wants and needs from life. It really is just a very beautiful way to wrap up this entire theme.

Now, the MCU. For all the changes the MCU has made to Bucky’s character, they’ve done a decent job of keeping this theme more or less alive throughout his appearances imho, which makes me very happy! It’s less well-developed because he’s not given too much screentime, but even fans who have never picked up a comic book got the theme from the subtext in the movies - how Bucky’s story is about agency. TFatWS explored it further. But I just don’t see what the White Wolf adds to this theme? I mean, it sure is a way of having him leave the Winter Soldier mantle behind for a while before he’s ready to take it up again. But he could, y’know... be Bucky. There’s no need to come up a whole new identity to him.

The thing is, imho, that people who aren’t into comics don’t have any reaction to the White Wolf because it’s not a household name, and people who are into comics are like “Why. He has nothing in common with 616!White Wolf.” Nobody is going to hear “Bucky is the White Wolf” and go “Oh my god that is awesome I’m gonna go talk to all my friends about this right now!!!” So the MCU really needed to develop the White Wolf angle like they do whenever they introduce a new mantle to the MCU, but they never do develop it, they just seem to expect the fans to come up with a plot in their heads with almost no clues to work with. To be honest, I’m still not even 100% sure whether White Wolf is a hero name or a civilian nickname! Because titles in Wakandan culture seem to be a big deal and come with a specific duty, but Bucky is implied to have been essentially a civilian under royal care and protection, not someone who was expected to do anything in particular. I had initially guessed that was just a code name to avoid other people finding out his identity, but if it’s a code name, then Marvel sure is clinging on to it more than they’ve ever done with other code names used in the MCU. (”Natalie Rushman” doesn’t follow Natasha all over the MCU!)

Of course, if we had a movie exploring Bucky’s days as the White Wolf, or even if we got a single poignant scene specifically about what being the White Wolf actually means, then sure! That could’ve been interesting and meaningful. But almost all of the White Wolf saga happens offscreen, so imho this detail doesn’t explore anything as much as it adds a random unconnected subplot to the Bucky’s main plot. And I don’t think everything in the MCU has to be Very Important! For instance, I think these random name drops could’ve worked if they were just fanservice, you know? It’s hard because Bucky doesn’t have many mantles, but I don’t know, maybe have him be The Sargeant and people would guess that’s a reference to The Captain or whatever - at least it comes from his corner of the 616 instead of stealing a Black Panther character who has nothing in common with Bucky.

Basically, I find the whole thing to be WAY more confusing than it’s worth being. I’m sure there are fans out there who are making amazing things with this concept, but it’s just not for me. I wish Marvel had 1) developed this mini-arc better, 2) picked another name and made it just a fun easter egg or 3) not given Bucky a Wakandan title at all and just let him spend his time between HYDRA!Winter Soldier and hero!Winter Soldier as Bucky Barnes.

So. Yeah. I have many thoughts and they’re not very positive! I can’t say that it bothers me enough for me to spend much of my time feeling bad about this storyline (the way I do with other storylines I dislike), but whenever I do stop to think about it I just have a hard time understanding where this story even came from and why Marvel keeps bringing it up. I don’t think it’s even a bad idea, it’s just so random that I find it more... weird than awful, I guess. Thinking about it doesn’t make me go “THIS SUCKS, I HATE IT!!!!” just “...okay. sure. why tho.”

...now I’m thinking about it, this whole post could’ve just been “???????????” and that would’ve summed up my feelings just as well.

[magpiewords]

Code Name: Confession

Universe: 616

Title: Truth In Your Eyes

Rating: G

Word Count: 2566

A/N: Based on my loose knowledge of the comics. I may have taken some liberties with the intention of the art, but I really love the concept of “Steve doesn’t know Tony Stark = Iron Man” so I ran with secret identities.

“I can’t do the equation unless I have all the variables, that’s what you said.” Steve threw Tony’s own words in his face.

“It was just a debrief, Rogers, he misses them all the time.”

Tony had been sitting in the living room when Steve had stormed in. Yesterday’s battle had been anything but smooth. Natasha had her arm in a cast, Bruce was requesting a two-week sabbatical to who knows where in India, and Thor was so emotionally entangled with their villain that he had personally taken the spoils of their fight back to Asgard. If Tony was being honest, he actually didn’t hate Loki that much – the guy could actually be fun when he wasn’t be a megalomaniac – but he really hated magic.

“Stark, he was injured. I understand that he has a job to do, but he should have gone to medical. He may be your bodyguard but he’s also his own person.”

“I needed him.”

“You can’t actually be that heartless, can you?”

Tony let out a bitter laugh, but didn’t look up from the tablet in his lap. “Is that a challenge?”

Steve sighed and took a seat in the armchair to Mr. Stark’s left. “I don’t need to know everything about him, I don’t even need his name. But I deserve to know who I’m fighting with, need to know if he has anything we have to work around.”

“Like Barton and the snake thing?”

“Yes like Barton and the snake thing. If I had known he would – how did Iron Man phrase it, pull an Indiana Jones? – I wouldn’t have let Shield send him on that mission alone. The point is,” Steve leaned forward. His voice was so earnest, Tony actually glanced away from his screen to meet his eyes. “I would like to meet Iron Man outside of a mission. Call me old fashion, but I’d like to look into the eyes of my teammates when the world is crashing down around us.”

Tony knew it wasn’t Steve’s fault. The solider was made of curiosity and stubbornness. Great qualities for truth and justice, but not so great when trying to keep a secret. The rest of the world was already in a frenzy over who Iron Man was, especially after theories of an automated suit were dispelled after one of the early battle of the newly formed Avengers just half a year ago. The armor had taken a pretty nasty beating from whatever the hell those space whale nightmares had been, and one of the gauntlets had been ripped clean off to expose not wires and gears, but very human flesh and bone. Steve’s reaction was probably worse than any of the crazed press. Now every time Iron Man went down, he wanted the helmet off, wanted to “know if you’re okay in there, Shellhead.”

Every time the Captain asked, Iron Man’s excuse got a little less coherent. “Yeah Cap, I’m okay, Mr. Stark has to repair the armor.” “Yes Cap, I’m okay, gotta report back to my day job.” “Tis but a scratch, but my paint job’ll really need work.” Iron Man figured if his one liners weren’t as polished, it was surely because of his injury, and not the way the arc reactor spit out a few extra gigawatts at the nickname Steve had given him.

“Look into his eyes.” Tony broke their shared gaze, typing something quickly on his StarkPad. “Didn’t know you were a poet on top of being an artist, Rogers.”

“Mr. Stark, at least let him join us for movie night or something. You don’t own him.”

The tablet screen clicked off and Tony stood. “If I’m so heartless, maybe I do.”

“That’s not what I meant –“

“Iron Man’s identity is above your pay grad, Spangles.” The elevator doors opened long before Tony had crossed the room, but the closed behind him the moment he stepped in. Steve could almost mouth the words along with the billionaire – this conversation ended the same way every time.

None of the Avengers saw their wealthy patron or the armored teammate for several days until Shield called in for a mission. Something about an abandoned college building and a magical energy signature. Steve probably should have read the report more carefully, but any planning was hard to focus on seeing who was being sent on the mission with him.

It made sense, they didn’t actually need the whole team for what seemed like a recon mission, but Steve was almost never alone on missions with Iron Man. Maybe Shield didn’t want the two lead Avengers out of the tower at the same time unless the fight was big enough, but Steve was pretty sure Mr. Stark had his way into the servers and changed mission assignments. The both knew what would happen if Steve had free time with Iron Man.

“This building is really incredible.” Steve started as they started on the thirteenth floor. “You know, when I came up from the ice, Mr. Stark told me all about New York’s improved school system. Are all NYU buildings like this?”

“What makes you think I’m from New York?”

“You’re not?”

“I’m afraid that answer is above your pay grade.” Even with the mechanical suit’s voice filter, Steve could hear the smile hidden behind the mask.

“He doesn’t make you say that, does he?”

Iron Man’s laughter was strange, robotic yet so so human. “He might program the suit, but he doesn’t program me.”

“It is your decision though, right?” Steve pushed, “To keep your identity a secret from us?”

“Keeping my identity a secret is for the best.” Iron Man opened one of the classroom doors, doing a scan and shutting it. “This room’s secure.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“We’re on a mission, Cap. You’re the one always telling me to cut the chatter.” His tone was light, but the words ended the discussion the same way as always. If they were on a mission, Iron Man didn’t reveal any personal details.

“What if you joined us outside of a mission? Maybe for movie night?”

“Is Captain America asking me out? Must be my lucky day.” Iron Man stopped, turning to look at Steve. “A blush looks good on you, Stevie.”

The glowing blue ‘eyes’ of the suit weren’t really eyes to make proper contact with, but Steve kept his vision on the floor just in case. “Is that a yes?”

“Well I’ll have to ask my heartless boss and see what he thinks.”

Steve grinned, daring to look up. Even if he never saw underneath the Iron Man armor, he knew who Iron Man was. It’d be strange, but the team would make room for the metal suit on the couch. Before his mind could wonder further down imagining movie night together, the building shook. “What was that?”

“Epicenter is coming from a floor above us.” The teasing tone was gone, replaced with the cold steel Iron Man brought to battle. He engaged the suit’s thrusters, speeding to the stairwell as Captain American ran to follow. The armor HUD gave a layout of the building, which Iron Man pinged to the holo-shield bracer on Steve’s arm, tracking the power surge to a bathroom.

“You see anything?” Cap asked, activating the bracer, shield at the ready.

“Negative. But Shield told us the incident seemed magic related and Mr. Stark can’t seem to figure out scanners to pick up on that stuff.” The thrusters deactivated, landing with a thud yet keeping the tile floor intact. “So much for my boss being a genius. I hate magic.”

Steve laughed even as he scoped out the small room. “That is one thing I know about you.”

“That’s one thing you know about everyone. Come on, any sensible person hates magic. That doesn’t count.”

“Don’t worry, I wont tell Mr. Stark.” The shaking had stopped and the room seemed secure, but the mirror on the wall caught Steve’s attention.

The reflected image appeared normal at first, Iron Man gleaming in the florescent lights as Captain America stood behind him. Then, the surface of the glass seemed to ripple. The lights in the bathroom flickered. Steve had taken his cowl off somewhere around the fourth floor, pleasantly surprised to think that this might be one recon mission that wouldn’t turn into a fight. Now he wished he kept it on, watching as blonde hair turned gray and wrinkles bloomed around his face.

“Iron Man, are you seeing this?”

“See what – oh.” He turned, finally looking in the mirror. “Cap, it’s not real, I can see you and –” The sound of servos straining echoed in small room. “What the hell? Mirror mirror on the wall, I already know I’m the fairest of all?”

“I got that reference.” Steve chuckled, but his voice was all wrong. He lifted a hand to his face, feeling that the aged texture of his skin to prove it wasn’t just a reflective illusion. It was as though time had it’s hooks in him and was finally dragging him through the years he missed under the ice.

“Fuck, okay I can’t move but you can.” The servos continued to whine, and under the frantic tone of Iron Man’s voice, Steve could practically hear the gears whirling in his mind. “Look at me! Steve, don’t look in the mirror, look at me!”

The servos stopped moving. The sudden silence was deafening for a second, before a hissing noise filled the room.

“Okay, maybe don’t look at me.”

Steve turned his head anyway, the bones protesting as they aged. The armor was melting off, solid metal turning to liquid mesh of silver and gold components. Brown eyes were the first thing to come through.

“Steve please.” Iron Man’s voice wasn’t modulated anymore. “I know I’m sort of sending mixed signals here, but please don’t look. You want to know who I am but –“

“Okay.”

“What?”

“Iron Man, I know who you are.”

“You do?” The voice squeaked. Steve almost thought he could place it, but he’d need to hear the armored Avenger say something not in a panic.

“You’re my friend. And if you need this secret, I wont take it from you.”

Iron Man seemed to visibly relax, shoulders sagging as the metal pooled off him to reveal a glowing blue light in his chest. The arc reactor was in him? Steve just thought it powered the suit. He had a thousand more questions, but forced himself to turn his back to the cursed mirror.

“I need to apologize to your boss.” Steve said, the non sequitur making Iron Man tense up again.

“Why?”

“He suggested Alien for movie night last month and this would be a lot stranger if he didn’t.”

The last of the armor fell off of him and the person behind Iron Man collapsed to the floor, twisting to see the source of a strange clicking sound that had grown louder behind them. “Oh, yeah that’s a pretty good comparison.” He sounded shell shocked – still too abnormal for Steve to properly compare with. Even if he could compare, his brain was a little distracted by the metal reptilian that had grown in front of them. It growled, voice modulated with the pieces of the armor, still clicking as the waxy metal forged teeth where an elongated mouth was being built.

“I’m calling the team.”

“No!” Iron Man shouted and Steve had to fight the urge to turn around, just to finally have a face.

“I know you don’t want anyone to see you, but this really isn’t the time!” The creature roared behind them, newly solidified exo-armor scraping agains the floor. “Aged and no armor? We can’t fight this thing.”

“Yes, we can.” There was the cock of a gun and a round of bullets were fired into the creature. It reeled back, it’s shriek more terrible than the echo of the close range gunshots. Holes cut through the thin parts of the exo-skeleton, still dripping before they had solidified. So Iron Man was a great shot without the armor. Did he always carry an extra weapon under the suit? For every answer Steve got about Iron Man’s identity, he found ten more questions. But there was no time to ponder them, the liquid metal filled the cracks, healing the creature.

“Well, you can. I built a back up armor in your holo-shield bracer. It’s not perfect, but if you fight with it, it’ll buy me enough time to kill this thing.”

“Hold on, if you build the armor, why do you always run back to Mr. Stark after a fight?”

“Did I say build? I meant, uh, help build – watched? Whatever, I don’t have time to lie to you right now.”

“You’ve been lying to me?”

“Not the time, Rogers!” Iron Man snapped as the creature swiped a still forming claw at them. “Hit the two side buttons on the bracer, open the panel and press the blue button. You don’t need to be an engineer to know how it works.”

Steve clicked the buttons as the creature roared again. Plates of metal rolled out of the bracer, covering his body. Despite the ache in his bones, Steve felt strong. The holo-shield followed his arm as he bashed down into the creature’s skull. It roared as the metal dented, taking another swipe at the Captain. The American armor was knocked down, but Steve hardly felt the fall.

“And don’t turn around!”

“Not the time to worry about your secrets, Shellhead.” Cap threw back as he activated the boot thrusters, flying about the creature.

“No, the mirror. That’s how the creature took my armor and your serum. If you look again it’ll – Well it’s magic I don’t really know what it’ll do. Just keep distracting it.”

Every hit Steve managed to land, the creature healed. The holo-shield flickered, a warning about power levels flickered over the HUD. “How much longer, Iron Man?”

“Well I’m more of a rocket science guys, so this chemistry is sort of new for me.”

“You know chemistry?”

A soap dispenser flew past the corner of Steve’s vision, glass shattering on the creature and a dark orange liquid spilling over it. It howled, metal fizzing and melting. It lacked the wax like grace from when it had fallen from Iron Man, now it fell like twisted stained glass from a burned church.

“I do now.”

The last of the metal fizzled against the tile, burning through that and falling down another floor. The emergency armor gave one last warning before retracting from Steve. His hand seemed sturdy once again, and his face felt free of wrinkles. Before he could celebrate, another crash of glass came from behind him and he turned around before he could think twice. “Iron Man, are you okay?”

The short man held a broken off piece faucet, with the shattered remains of the mirror scattered about his feet. He turned, familiar brown eyes meeting Steve’s own blue ones. It was his first time seeing Iron Man’s face, and yet they’d done this a thousand time before. None other than Tony Stark was looking back at him. He looked nothing like the ‘Mr. Stark’ Steve had grown used to, dressed in ripped jeans and a faded t-shirt instead of a suit and tie. But the eyes, the eyes were unmistakable. “Yeah Steve, I’m okay. Surprise?”

Steve chuckled. “Not really. Only Mr. Stark calls me Rogers. Iron Man usually calls me Cap.”

Tony gave a small smile. Now that was a face Steve had never seen before. He could get used to that smile. “How about we meet in the middle and I call you Steve?”