capsrogers

[capsrogers]

rustedlongingone:

He supposed that this meeting had been a long time coming. Barnes had been avoiding meeting with Steve at first because he wasn’t sure if the kill order was completely gone from his mental conditioning. Then he’d been avoiding Steve because as memories came back, it had been very evident that who he was now and who he used to be were very different people. Barnes carried some traits and memories of Bucky but Bucky had none of the experiences or hurts that Barnes had been through. Also, Bucky hadn’t had a high-powered metal arm but that was neither here nor there.

When he was sure that he could pass as something like a regular person, Barnes had contact Steve. Just an email, asking if Steve wanted to talk. Barnes was still wary of anybody trying to tail and bag him, so he’d invited Steve over to his apartment in Brooklyn. They could talk without being monitored. He’d like to think that one day, Barnes would be less paranoid but in his heart he knew that he was probably going to be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

He puttered around his place, tidying things that didn’t need to be tidied as he waited for Steve to arrive. He futzed with the coffee maker, making himself a cup and promptly forgetting about it to fret over the contents of his refrigerator, then despaired over the cold coffee and made himself another. Fuck. Why was he nervous? Memories told him that Steve was his friend, his best friend. His gut warned him that things wouldn’t be the same. They’d practically lived life times separate from one another and the dynamic was different. Barnes sipped his too-hot coffee and winced, both at the scald to his mouth and the thought of being rejected for friendship.

Barnes leaned back against the counter and sighed, tipping his head back. Hopefully this all went well.

Steve could admit that he had a really hard time giving space to Bucky. He had spent so long searching for him to bring him home. Bucky was a good man and a hero -- he shouldn’t have been on the run for something that wasn’t his fault. And Bucky was important to him. Steve had completely blamed himself for Bucky’s death and, then later, brainwashing. So, yeah, he had a hard time giving space after Bucky’s deprogramming. He understood it though. Steve did the exact same time after his defrosting and the Battle of Manhattan. He needed to get out there and figure out who Steve Rogers was in the 21st century. The only difference was that Steve’s brain hadn’t been messed with. 

It had been weeks and months on end before he even heard anything from Bucky. By that point, he hadn’t been expecting to hear from him, so the email had been a pleasant surprise. He didn’t really know where he stood with Bucky anymore. All he knew was that Bucky had been his best friend, almost like a brother. He had no clue if Bucky remembered him, remembered the good ol’ days. And even if he did, Steve didn’t know if it meant anything to him. Regardless, Steve wanted so badly to be at the same place with Bucky again. While he had made close friends now, it just wasn’t the same as having Bucky as his friend.

Steve parked his motorcycle in front of the apartment complex address that Bucky sent him. He took a deep breath before heading in and knocking on the door. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous about seeing him again, but he supposed that was normal. He wasn’t sure what to expect, so the best thing was to have no expectations. That way, he probably wouldn’t be too disappointed if Bucky didn’t really remember him.

Steve smiled when Bucky opened the door. “Hey,” he greeted quietly, unsure of what else to say.

New Dynamics

[capsrogers]

marvel meme - [1/10] characters: Steve Rogers. “The price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”  

[capsrogers]

tonyshellheadstark:

“And I meant it three hours ago. I just needed…one hundred and eighty more minutes. Give or take a few.” Tony looked up at his husband, allowing himself to be easily maneuvered into the man’s lap. There were certainly worse places to be, and compared to his chair (burned and acid rotted and about the worst thing he owned because it’d seen him through every experiment, good and bad), Steve’s lap was the most comfortable thing in the world, even if he was more muscle than squish. If anyone knew Tony had chosen twelve hours locked in here with the rust and the wires and the bitching of his own computer program over being locked away in this man’s arms, they’d have thought him crazier than most of the world already did. Tony leaned up and kissed him, made sure to take his time with it, to try and put as much affection–as much ‘thank you for sticking with me through the work binges’–as he could into one move. Steve’s lips were the softest part of him, and they were intoxicating. Aven more than work was. 

Tony pulled away only to burrow his face into the crook of Steve’s neck. He hadn’t had a good idea in hours; he was stalling, and they both knew it. He didn’t want to have to think about what had happened the day before, to think about the consequences. All the good lawyers in the world weren’t going to help once the government decided supers had to be ended; the system was against them now–and to think Tony had been trying to help them. “You did, remember?” Tony pulled away, smiling up at his husband as he remembered bailing him out a couple of years before, when they’d still just been dating and the law had first been on their ass about being super heroes. “And if I know you–and I think I do–it won’t be the last time.” There as unmistakable pride in Tony’s voice. Sure, they didn’t always see eye to eye, and he didn’t like seeing his husband in jail, but he did like watching him stand up for what he believed in. 

He reached for the food then, and it was only when he started eating that he realized just how hungry he really was. “What have you been doing all this time?” he asked curiously. He’d heard Steve moving around upstairs, but he’d been too distracted–too lost in his work to come up and see what it was all about. 

Steve hummed, rubbing Tony’s back when he nuzzled his face into his neck. Physical comfort was easy for him to provide. For all his bulk and muscles, he really was a teddy bear at heart. He was sure that Tony could attest to that for all the cuddling they did. The mutual cuddling was one of Steve’s favorite parts of their relationship. They didn’t talk about it often, but they were both rather touch-starved. The fact that they touched one another constantly -- whether it was hand holding or lap sitting -- was an indicator of how much they needed this. They were generally open to casual touches, open to that level of comfort. 

He smiled, letting Tony pull away to point out that Steve has, in fact, already been arrested while they’ve been together. “Okay, fair. You got me,” he agreed easily with a shrug. “Jail isn’t the worst thing when the reason that got me there in the first place is more important.” Jail didn’t scare him. What did scare him was any harm that could come to his loved ones, especially Tony. He knew that his husband could take care of himself, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. That didn’t stop him from thinking about all of the things that could go wrong in this rather delicate political situation. Things were already going downhill for Tony, and if Steve could just hug him to make it all better, then he would. Unfortunately, the serum didn’t give him that exact ability. 

He leaned back in his chair, giving Tony a chance to get through a good portion of his dinner before bringing up something that would probably result in a very loud conversation (or argument). “Funny that you bring that up,” Steve started, rubbing the back of his head and feeling unsure of how to start this conversation. “Uh, you’ve probably noticed but I’m going, you know, stir-crazy.” He said. It was true -- Steve was never one to simply sit on his hands while he could be doing something. “So, I came up with this plan. And before I do anything, I figured we could talk about it.” He pulled out some sketches out of his pocket and showed them to Tony. They were Ginny’s initial sketches of his new costume as well as Steve’s notes and plans for taking action, not as Captain America. 

All Time Low || Stony

[capsrogers]

cxrter-13:

Sharon picked at her white nail polish, the one bad habit that Peggy and Nick Fury hadn’t been able to get her out of. It showed weakness, they said; it showed that whatever it was someone was saying to you, it was working. It was getting to you.

Steve Rogers was getting to her. He was talking sense, she knew it, and he said everything as if there was no possible way someone could argue with it. He was so sure of himself, and Sharon was so uncertain, that it would’ve made sense to just agree with him and let that be the end of it. But yet, Sharon had never been the kind of person to want to end the argument - if that’s what this was, it didn’t feel like it - early. She was definitely not the kind of person who didn’t enjoy having the last word.

“They put on the mask, they should learn to live with the consequences,” Sharon said. There was a slight edge to her voice now, no matter how much she tried to keep her tone neutral. She knew Steve didn’t deserve this, knew he was a good man. Damn, if she didn’t know that she would’ve grilled him more when he first married Tony. He had Peggy’s seal of approval, too, and he sure as hell didn’t need even more weight on his shoulders than there already was. But people like her - people like her father - they made their decisions, and they had both lived with the consequences. Why should it be any different for anyone?

“In my line of work, people have gotten hurt just because they knew me,” Sharon said. She tried very hard to keep her voice even. “One poor guy, he tried to leave flowers on my doorstep and someone was in my apartment and thought he was me … My dad went to more funerals when I was younger than I can count on both hands. I didn’t even realise what they were until I was six; I just thought they were another fancy dinner.” She pulled at her lip. The casserole which had been so lovely just minutes ago now sat in her stomach like lead.

“Mom begged me not to go into SHIELD, you know,” she said. “Told me I was being selfish for wanting to protect people, and I get it now. I don’t protect people doing what I do, I put them in danger. If I have to live with that - if every other agent I know has to live with that - why shouldn’t everyone else? The world’s a dangerous place, but it is for anyone. Registration might even give more protection… We won’t know until it happens.”

Steve shook his head. He understood where she was coming from. The situation would have felt better if Steve just could not see the point of the other side. It would make things a whole lot easier. But issues weren’t so black and white anymore. They were all shades of gray and in between. And the issue at hand made sense for all sides. It was a matter of safety and protection. Safety for the heroes. Protection for the citizens. It was hard to prioritize, especially when the protection of the citizens only came when heroes were safe -- well, as safe as they could be. Steve knew that for the heroes who put on the mask, they took a risk everyday because villains would stop at nothing to find out their secret identity and hurt them at home. 

“They put on the mask because they want to do good, without putting their family and friends in danger. There shouldn’t be consequences for that. And they shouldn’t have to deal with it. Listen, I get it. World’s a dangerous place and we can’t protect everyone. Not even when you think you’re being so damn careful. But I truly do not think that Registration, as it is, will give anyone any more protection than they already have.” Steve replied. He could feel them talking in circles around one another at this point.

“I think this is something we need to sit on for a bit. I know we can’t wait long, but this kind of decision takes time. I think we can agree that we just want what’s best for everyone. Except what’s best for everyone is a very vague answer,” Steve said, tapping his fingers on the document. This was going to be a very messy election, and if there was one thing he hated, it was messy situations. He much preferred things that were clear-cut. Maybe that was just his age showing. And maybe Sharon was right and her experience with the world today and in agencies like SHIELD and the CIA made her more qualified to make these calls. 

If there was one thing he hated more than messy situations, it was not being sure about something. People depended on him to be sure, to be able to follow his gut instinct and have it be right. If he helped make a wrong call in Registration, they would have a bigger problem than just the government. 

A Familiar Face || Sharon & Steve

[capsrogers]

I follow motion, have you reinstated.

[capsrogers]

tonyshellheadstark:

“I said I’d come up in a minute.” Tony spoke without looking up, his focus locked in on the computer program in front of him. The coding stretched on and on, and he knew if he looked up, he’d lose it, lose his spot, lose his train of thought lose–what the hell was he trying to do again? He couldn’t remember what the point of this had even been, and truthfully, there was a chance that there had never been a point, that he’d simply come down here to lock himself away from the world, to shower and then cover the grime of a jail cell that still stuck to his skin with the grime of his workshop: with the smell of metal and burned wires and machinery gone haywire. Oh yeah, that’s exactly what the point had been. 

The smell of food hit him first, then Steve’s body wash, and Tony turned around, The tension that had made him feel like destroying the computer– like destroying everything in this garage–melted away with one look into his husbands’ eyes. Too blue to look away from, too beautiful not to notice, too familiar not to get lost in. “If that tastes as good as it smells, I might have to marry you again,” he said, pointing at the food. He reached for Steve’s hands instead, then tugged him down until he could kiss him properly. “What time is it?” 

“Yeah, you said that three hours ago,” Steve replied, setting the plate of food down in front of Tony, waiting for the smell of food to combine with the hunger to distract him. The moment Steve got news that Tony had been arrested for the murder of Lazarus, he immediately phoned the lawyers they kept on retainer and Pepper. They needed to take care of this as soon as they could. Tony already had enough on his plate, what with working out the budgets for various relief funds and charities on top of new designs for StarkIndustries on top of meetings with Senate and the board of StarkIndustries and SHIELD on top of working with Steve on rewriting the proposed stipulations for Registration. He did not need to stress about a murder trial for a murder he did not even commit. 

Steve kissed Tony back, savoring the feel of his lips. All he wanted was to hold Tony in his arms as soon as he came home, but he also knew that Tony needed his own time and space. “’S eight at night,” he murmured. He lifted Tony up, sitting down in his chair before settling his husband into his lap. Steve wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist, nuzzling his face into his neck. It had been a good twelve hours after Tony had been released, and while it wasn’t healthy, Tony needed the time to get his head on straight. But twelve hours was where Steve drew the line. He needed warm food in his stomach and cuddles from his husband. “Between the two of us, I think I would end up in the clink first,” he remarked. 

All Time Low || Stony

[capsrogers]

cxrter-13:

Sharon was - well, she was a cynic. She would openly admit that since her workplace went down in smoke a couple years back and her family legacy became more of a grievance to her resume than a benefit that she never chose to cash in on, she’d been more cautious of optimism than ever. Her father and her aunt both were declining rapidly; one with PTSD and the other with dementia. She wasn’t on speaking terms with her mother, but that was nothing new. Her cousin was under more strain than she had ever seen him before, and asking him for help seemed like a cruel thing to do when he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Maybe if things had been different, she would be as against Registration as Steve was. At the core, she agreed with him. The ability to make her own decisions had been one of the main reasons she was drawn to SHIELD and espionage as a whole in the first place, and Registration would mean that the supers who protected the city would feel just like she did in the CIA; stifled. Claustrophobic. Unable to make the hard choices that didn’t sound good in reports, but needed to be made.

Sharon understood where Steve was coming from, but she couldn’t agree with him. It was only a matter of time before someone was born with amazing, devastating powers and decided to use them for evil instead of good, or someone decided to experiment with the human genome and found something revolting. Statistically - and Sharon was very fond of statistics - it was going to happen, that the world would become overrun with enhanced individuals, and ordinary humans like herself wouldn’t stand a chance.

“I get what you’re saying,” Sharon said, looking at the packet in Steve’s hand. The two didn’t seem to go well together. She could feel the suppressed anger inside him at the suggestion, and she sympathised, but. But. “And I think if Aunt Peg was here… She’d agree with you. But that doesn’t mean I do.”

With a deep sigh, she pushed her plate away. “Look, I realise you and the government have … A complicated relationship. Believe me, I’ve had more than my share of times where I’ve been imprisoned for my work and got out because someone got paid under the table. Do I agree that it’s fair, that Registration puts the same rules on everyone, regardless of their circumstances? No. Do I think it’s necessary? Absolutely.” Sharon tapped her fingers against the table and looked out at the city.

“We all just want the best for the people,” she said. “Not everyone can scale walls or fly a nuke into space or run sixty miles an hour. Ordinary people want to feel as if they have some control over their future. They want to feel as if they aren’t going to be … outcompeted, to put it bluntly.” Although she was saying what she felt was true, she couldn’t look Steve in the eye anymore as she said it, so she continued to gaze out at the skyscrapers that surrounded them. “You’re bound to understand what it feels like. Ordinary people - people like me, even the highly trained ones - don’t like feeling as if they’re the underdog.”

Steve took a deep breath, letting out his anger. That was a problem he had -- always letting his emotions get the best of him. While he liked to believe he had a very good moral compass, and that he followed it more often than not, there were definitely times where Steve would rather follow his gut and his emotions (i.e., anything where Bucky Barnes or Tony Stark was concerned). With a piece of legislation like this, it was easy to be angry and it was easy to let the anger consume him and lead his actions. In order to beat it, he had to have passion. But at the same time, he knew that he needed to be logical about it all. The world’s greatest strategist needed to have a strategy, one that didn’t involved running in half-cocked and ready to put his fists up. 

While he knew what it was like to be the underdog, be the small kid that got beat up once a day, he didn’t know what it was like to be an ordinary human in a world of extraordinary people. He didn’t know what it was like to be an ordinary human in a world where aliens existed in real life, not just in the movies. For those people, the movies just couldn’t prepare them for that kind of madness. For Steve, for someone who went through an extremely experimental medical procedure and came out fighting a Nazi with a red skull, he had a little bit more life experience than the average citizen. 

Sharon had a point. People like her, Natasha, Clint, every other SHIELD agent or specially skilled human could hold their own against enhanced humans like Steve. But against mutants, it would be hard. People with powers do need to be put in check because of how much damage they could cause, whether they were trying to protect the city or not. He knows that. Yet...Registration would be like putting a leash onto everyone, regardless of how they use their powers. 

“I get it. I see where you’re coming from. I really do -- I see the result of having enhanced people living in New York every single day. We’re still working on recovering from the damage with Loki, for crying out loud. We’re dangerous, yes. But this? What they plan to do with everyone that registers? I cannot agree with it. They plan on exposing everyone, putting these people’s loved ones in danger if they choose to wear a mask. And registration becomes public knowledge, so their enemies go ahead and threaten those innocent people. How is that any better? If Registration is going to happen, it needs to change. Even then, I’m not sure I can agree,” he said. He’s seen the kind of destruction and bigotry that’s come out of registering people, right there in World War II. It has lasting effects to this day, and that isn’t something he wants to see for enhanced humans and mutants alike. 

A Familiar Face || Sharon & Steve

[capsrogers]

cxrter-13:

Sharon reached out and took a drink, having ate the casserole with such haste that she hadn’t even had the time to chew before swallowing. She had to admit, she loved visiting Avengers Tower, if for nothing other than the sense of community that enveloped her the second she walked in. Her cousin had built a family for himself out of nothing, and every single one of the Avengers was a damn good person. It was hard to find something she was as sure of as she was of this, and so any moment she had to surround herself with friends was a good one, and a moment she took full advantage of. She had hoped beyond everything that the Avengers would follow Registration easily and make her job just a tad less difficult, but of course that was asking a lot of people who were known for going against conformity and standing up for what they believed in.

It was something Sharon respected more than she could say. The first story Peg had told her about Steve had informed her opinion about him from a young age, and might’ve had some influence on her decision to go into S.H.I.E.L.D. after all, even though she’d gotten into Harvard and was pretty much guaranteed a job as a lawyer upon graduation. Hearing Peggy talk about the way Captain Rogers had completely disregarded the orders of Colonel Philip and ended up busting into a Hydra camp in Vienna saving all of the prisoners there had meant Sharon regarded heroism as sticking up for what you believed in, no matter the cost. In the S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War she had done just that, not caring if Rumlow shot her for her disobedience. But now … All she wanted was for the Avengers to nod and cooperate, for fear that if they didn’t, they might not be allowed to exist anymore.

What the world would do without the Avengers was unknown. They’d coped fine before, but that was when there were no aliens or demigods coming through holes in the Earth’s atmosphere or down rainbow roads or carrying big sticks of blue wrecking energy. What could Sharon - or any agent, for that matter - do against people like that? Sharon was the first to admit she was rather good at leading people, having achieved the highest marks in the Academy and being promoted to Nick Fury’s right hand woman mere years after graduating, but compared to Steve’s years of combat experience and Tony’s near impossible intelligence, she knew she didn’t hold a candle.

“I kinda knew you’d say that,” Sharon admitted with a sigh, leaning back in her seat. “But you’re right about it being necessary, though I’m not sure about evil.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a rather thick booklet of pages. “I’m not supposed to have this,” she said, looking around more out of habit than anything; she knew this place was more secure than the Pentagon. “It’s the beginnings of the first draft. Some of the main terms of Registration have already been decided upon. As much as the government talks about being a democracy, they’ve pretty much made up their minds already that this is happening.”

She slid the booklet over towards Steve. “The CIA highly approves of Registration. They think it’ll make all of the agents’ jobs easier, having mutants and other enhanceds marked for surveillance. I agree with Registration - I think - but the way they’re talking, I’m worried.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “The murmurs around the office sound a lot like Project Insight to me.”

If there wasn’t a need for people like the Avengers, then Steve would have an easier time stepping down. If there weren’t alien invasions or other enhanced or superpowered folks who used their powers to terrorize innocent people, then Steve would have an easier time stepping down. As it were, that wasn’t the case. As it were, Registration was a way to turn the Avengers into attack dogs on the wrong people. The government wasn’t out here, doing the work. They thought they knew who the threat was, but Steve could already see it -- they would send people like him to do their dirty work with misinformation, saying that these people were a threat, when really, the Avengers were the ones being sent to threaten innocent people. That was how it had always worked. People with political power thought what they were doing was what was best for all, without even a second thought for the actual situation at hand.

For as long as he lived, he would do everything in his power for good. He had the ability to make a difference, so why wouldn’t he take his chance? The first 26 years of his life was all about trying to prove that he made a difference, that he had something to contribute to society. And Dr. Erksine died helping him, and Steve was not going to squander the chance that Erksine gave him. Not only that, but Steve Rogers had a stubborn streak five miles wide. It was notoriously difficult to get him to budge on anything. Bucky could do it if he really, really tried, but more often than not, he got wrapped up in Steve’s decisions just to save his ass. Peggy whipped him into shape damn quick, but Steve was still the kind of person who would hear what she was saying then jump out the back of the plane anyway. Tony would have to have a screaming match with him before Steve could even consider what he was saying (luckily those days have long passed). 

He looked at the packet that Sharon was sliding over to him before taking it. He knew it was a big deal that she even had it in the first place, much less was handing it over to him. “Fear, not protection,” he murmured, flipping through the pages. He scanned the pages as quick as he could while also committing it to memory. It was probably a moot point, knowing that JARVIS was probably also scanning the pages in the background as he flipped through the packet, but best to keep himself on his toes. “With how they’re laying it out, it’s...well, it’s not good. If Registration is being pushed, it has to change. This?” He said, holding up the packet. “It’s inhumane. They want us to be their own personal army. People with that kind of political power who feel like they’re in control of enhance people? They’re dangerous,” he warned. 

A Familiar Face || Sharon & Steve

[capsrogers]

Costume Change | Ginny & Steve

Steve was practically vibrating with anxious excitement as he drove to Avengers Tower. It was an idea he had only been toying with, one that he drew his own sketches for. He wasn’t even sure if it was something that could happen. But if there was even the slightest chance that it could work, well, who was he to give up that shot? His entire life has been about making a difference for the better. He thought he was doing that by being Captain America. He thought that he could continue to do that, soldier on and do good in the world. Somewhere along the way, Captain America became someone that people couldn’t trust anymore nor was he someone that people could put their faith in. Whether that was because of his outspoken beliefs -- something that the American public never really saw when he first became Cap -- or because of the damage the Avengers caused and he was one of the leaders of the group, he wasn’t sure. But that didn’t discourage him from wanting to do good.

He took the private elevator up to Ginny’s floor, sketchbook tucked under his arm and a stuffed animal in the crook of his other arm. If he was going to show up at Ginny’s doorstep, he couldn’t not bring a gift for his sort-of-granddaughter. Sarah was getting bigger every day and Steve never knew he could love someone so much and so unconditionally until he held Sarah in his arms. He loved Tony -- God, did he love Tony -- but as soon as he held Sarah, he knew that he would do everything in his power to protect her. (And Tony could take care of himself for the most part, if it came down to it.) 

Steve knocked on the door, smiling warmly at Ginny. “Hey, kiddo,” he greeted, hugging her. Viktor’s return had been a shock for them all, and it took some getting used to again. He could very much imagine what Ginny was going through -- dealing with someone’s return when you thought them to be long dead. A lot of things changed when Steve woke up in the future, including the definition of “death,” apparently.

[capsrogers]

bad decisions | steve | closed

Policy making was not something that Steve was well-versed in, yet here he was, making edits to the proposed Registration legislature. He and Tony had agreed to work on a version of Registration that worked out in all parties’ interests. While Steve was still very much against this idea, he had to concede to Tony’s point of view. The public was scared -- they needed to see that people with superpowers, heroes and villains alike, could be held accountable. While Steve wasn’t exactly thrilled with people being labeled, he saw the kind of damage people like him did in New York. He lived there; he saw the destruction they had caused on a daily basis. He knew that while their intentions were to never cause so much damage and destruction, that did not negate the fact that they did just that. Tony was working tirelessly to make sure that the citizens got the reparations they were due as well as keeping his own company afloat. While Tony was loathe to discuss finances with his own husband, Steve knew that they had to have cut back on a lot of things. And part of that made Tony that much closer to the citizens and their pro-Registration stance.

However, just because he was able to see that point of view, it still did not mean that this didn’t rub him the wrong way. Superheroes should absolutely be held accountable, yes. But they should still be afforded some privacy and some of their own autonomy. Were the UN to take complete control of superpowered groups like the Avengers or the X-Men, it would feel too much like the UN’s own superpowered army of dogs. This “Grant Ward Human Protection Act” would mean having to follow their orders on their terms, and anyone who knew Steve at all knew that that was something he couldn’t do. As it was, heroes were being watched very closely, so much so that most felt as if they were on lockdown. Steve agreed. With how much scrutiny they were under, heroes were on lockdown. 

That was why, in order to keep busy, Steve was sitting in the living room with papers scattered everywhere with red pen edits on every page. But Steve wasn’t one to sit around and go over papers. He was the kind of person who preferred to be out there, in the middle of all the action. He knew Tony had asked him to cool his heels and at least be patient or else Tony would be the one who would with the fallout. And Steve would do anything for his husband, even if it killed him to do it. He sighed, setting aside the papers for now and grabbing his sketchbook. He flipped it open to the page he had last been working on -- a superhero design that had nothing to do with Captain America. A design that would maybe allow him to work outside the confines of the Avengers and in the gray area of street hero. It was a bad idea, but most of his bad ideas worked out in the end. He sighed; maybe another time, he’d revisit the idea again with more seriousness.

[capsrogers]

How do you compare to people’s expectations of you?

I’m probably a lot less wholesome than people expect. Also more boring at the same time. 

[capsrogers]

How do you deal with stress?

[capsrogers]

Do you ever get tired of being so perfect all the time?

I wouldn’t call myself perfect. In all honestly, I am very aware of my flaws, and I’m working on them. And even if I do manage them, that wouldn’t mean I’m perfect. I appreciate the compliment in there, though.

[capsrogers]

Steve, how do you feel about marriage? Is it what you thought it would be like?

When I was little, the only kind of marriage I could ever dream up of as possible was with a lady. Now, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, but for me, that felt too limited, that I wasn’t allowed to even look at any other person besides women. Getting older, I thought of marriage as this wonderfully blissful thing but also something you had to work at. What I have with Tony is exactly that. I love being married and I love being married to Tony. To know that we have each other for the rest of our lives, til death do us part? That’s somethin’ special to me. I know we coulda done that without getting married, but this somehow makes it more real to me. That God still blessed us and our marriage. 

While I thought marriage would involve less superheroing, I’m still very much happy. 

[capsrogers]

What is Steve's favorite childhood memory? His worst?

My favorite childhood memory would be watching my ma cook. Even though we couldn’t afford much, she was a whirlwind in the kitchen and I couldn’t complain (much) about the food she put on the table.

My worst childhood memory would be all the times I was cooped up in the hospital for one illness or another. It sucks when you’re a kid and it gets real lonely. Which is why I try my best to make hospital visits in the pediatric wing as much as I can. 

[capsrogers]

Character development time! Give me some interesting questions about my character and I will answer.

[capsrogers]

tonyshellheadstark:

Tony reached up and ran a hand over Steve’s jaw, tracing his fingers over the places where the muscles had tensed until they felt rock hard. When everything else about Steve felt rock hard–and Tony liked it that way–there were a few places he liked to keep soft, like Steve’s smile or the look in his eyes when he kissed Tony good morning, bedhead still in place, and his body relaxed when he rolled out of bed. “The plan has kinks in it, I’ll give you that. The best possibly scenario gets it rewritten top to bottom. The worst–we make adjustments where we can. But we’ll figure it out. Together,” he agreed, and he felt, all at once, a rush of relief surge through every inch of his body just to hear the word “okay” on Steve’s lips. They had been here before, and gods knew that when they didn’t agree, their fights could turn ugly, but he liked to believe they’d learned since then–that they were better men than they’d been the day they’d met, when Steve was just thawed, and Tony had ten shades of PTSD and had no idea what it meant to be a hero. He’d learned most of all. 

Sometimes, Tony thought that Steve had left the womb already a hero. But his husband had also lived through the world’s most polarized war, where us versus then was clear as night and day, and good and evil didn’t have to be studied: it was just known. Nazis were bad. Not-Nazis good. But the world they lived in now just wasn’t so simple anymore. The good guys were all mixed up with the bad, and every day, there was a new reveal: SHIELD was HYDRDA, or your old Botanist buddy and her think tank, AIM, were now just a couple of terrorists. And Tony knew first hand–and better than anybody–that trying to do good and being good were two different things entirely. 

“Until we sign something, the press won’t leave us alone,” he warned Steve. “I need you to trust me to handle it. I won’t agree to anything without the full team’s consent, but dealing with bad press is sort of my speciality.” And if this went wrong–if the public stopped defending them, even the scattered half of the public they had left on their side–Tony would be the first to suffer for it, the first imprisoned. It was not an exciting prospect, but more worrisome were its implications: if Tony went down, so did his company. The Avengers would be defunded, and all the good Stark Industries was doing around the world would crumble. They wouldn’t survive the scandal, and the Earth would suffer for it, literally. He had only just now been able to make some headway in his green globe initiative. Tony couldn’t afford to lose that now. 

His hands trailed up Steve’s neck and to the back of his head, threading his fingers through blonde hair. “You know, I like this healthy communication thing we’ve got going here. It suits us. And it looks damn good on you,” he added with a playful smirk, leaning in to kiss him. 

Tony could be so gentle. Steve wished people could see that, but at the same time, he wanted to selfishly keep this side of Tony all to himself. Steve knew that he would do anything to protect his loved one -- Tony, especially. Tony had too much riding on his cooperation with the demand to register. His husband wasn’t just Iron Man; he was also a businessman and the face of one of the largest corporations in the world. Most corporations were already leaning toward Registration, and if Tony refused, that could be potentially disastrous for his business prospects, especially when Tony was depending on those relationships to continue on with his green globe initiative. 

Steve took a deep breath, leaning into Tony’s touch. The contact was grounding, and that was something that Steve needed. If he were being honest, and he usually was, the decision to go through with Registration made him feel sick to his stomach. It went against every gut feeling he had that told him to run far away from this piece of legislation and to make sure it never saw the light of day. He knew a large part of the powered population felt the same as him -- that Registration would only divide them from the humans, that Registration would only serve to “other” them. 

But if he and Tony could get ahead of this, if they just worked together, they could make this work. Tony was a futurist, a man who could think three, four steps ahead with every possible scenario accounted for. Steve was a master strategist with a hero past that people trusted. They both had their strengths, and they could use Registration to their advantage. At the moment, the UN only had a bare bones skeleton of what Registration could be. Steve and Tony could propose their own form of Registration that benefit all parties involved. This could be a solution. Steve needed to trust Tony to take care of the talking, and Tony needed to trust Steve when he said this could go wrong if they didn’t change it.

He huffed out a laugh. “It sure beats screaming at each other and not even realizing that we’re on the same team,” he agreed, smiling fondly at Tony. He kissed him softly then rested his forehead on his. “We’ll make this work. We can get through this,” he murmured. And if he said that to convince himself of it, well, he knew that Tony wouldn’t point it out.

history has its eyes on (us) | stony