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diaryofabeautyfiend · 4 years

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Reader would like to apologize for the decision Steve Rogers is about to make. No smut just sadness.

Small Time Witch (24)

F I V E Y E A R S L A T E R....

.....And so far you’ve survived. Your days are not without moments of melancholy. Your thoughts meander back to the days when the two of you would sit quietly in your loft reading the day away. The music of old book pages turning and tea cups clinking onto saucers filled the air. The song still plays but it only plays for you.

You’ve become somewhat reclusive over the years. You’ve stopped going to the bar and haven’t talked to Jason. It’s just as well. Hopefully he’s found someone to help him move on. Maybe he’s happy.

Despite your official hermit status you are happy. You have a routine and just enough human contact to keep you from going completely insane. Friends come and go. Some stay the night sometimes longer. You welcome human contact in controlled doses. Some you welcomed more than others. Mostly you enjoyed your self imposed solitude.

Sometimes you take the trip to visit Hilde. She is taking care of the day to day business in New Asgard since Thor doesn’t come out much. She is always exciting and happy. When you need that she is happy to give it.

Today you are heading up the coast to meet her. When you hit a certain spot you put down your windows so the salt and brine of the ocean can fill your car. It smelled like Hilde. The air is crisp and the wind biting. Your hair whips your face as you sing loudly with the radio. She meets you at the entrance to the city with a big smile and a bigger kiss. With her you feel reborn.

“Your timing could not be more perfect. Thor has guests.”

You narrowed your eyes, “Guests? Who?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” You jumped back into your car and drove as close as you could to his hovel. You knocked on his door and Bruce answered. Though, it wasn’t Bruce. It was like Bruce and Hulk somehow merged to form a super Bruce.

“Y/n! Good to see you.” He wrapped you in his big green arms taking care not to crush you. “Angry girl!” He high-fived Hilde who smiled at you with immense amusement. “This is Rocket.” You shook hands with a raccoon. A freaking raccoon.

Thor glared at you, “I suppose they sent you in to bring me back as well.”

“Umm no. I was just here to visit Hilde. This was a pleasant surprise. I’m sorry bing you back? Is something happening?”

“We found a way to undo it all.” Bruce said with a cautious tone.

“Yeah but not Loki though so...” Thor looked was pretty drunk and smelled like he hadn’t bathed in weeks. Guilt rose from your chest and burned your throat. You should have pushed harder to see him.

“He wasn’t snapped so we don’t know. We’re going to try, Y/N.”

Your were filled when righteous indignation. No one bothered to even fill you in on their plan. If there was even a slim chance Loki could be brought back they should have told you.

Thor saw your balled fists crackle with electricity. “Y/N should come back with us. It’s the only way I’ll go.”

“I don’t know, Thor....”

“Bruce, I’m coming.” You looked back at Hilde who smiled though you could feel you were hurting her feelings. “Don’t leave without me. You..” you dragged her outside.

“You don’t have to explain yourself.” Tears shimmered in her eyes though she did her best to play them off.

“Yes, I do.” You pressed your lips against hers. She pulled you closer and deepening the kiss. Everything you had to say to her was in that kiss. I’m sorry. I love you. Goodbye. I’ll miss you. It was all there. Hilde was not one for flowery words. She was a physical person and that’s how you had to show her how much she meant to you. You pressed your forehead to hers giving a few more gentle pecks. “Thank you.”

“It was most definitely my pleasure. When you see him, tell him I kept you warm and promise me you’ll take a picture of the scowl on his face.”

“I love you:”

“I love you more.”

———————————————————————

Bruce’s words churned in your head the whole way back to the compound. They were “going to try”. You were sure that Loki wasn’t a huge priority. The thought made you angry all over again.

The Avengers had no problem overlooking his past discretions when they needed him. He was mostly tolerated because of Thor. Now there may be a chance to bring him back and they were “going to try”. It was going to be really hard not to melt someone today.

When you pulled up Tony was outside waiting for you. He opened the car door and took your hand. “Y/N. Good to see you.”

You sensed a lecture so you leaned against the car and folded your arms so he could speak. “Did Banner fill you in?”

“Not really.”

“We’re going back to get the stones. Like back in time. We’ve tested it. It works.....just as long as there are no fuck ups. So I guess it begs the question: are you going to fuck it up?”

“Not intentionally?”

He sighs frustrated, “Look, kid. I know Loki means a lot to you. We have to bring everyone back and if that means your boyfriend not coming back...”

“Husband.”

“No shit? Huh. If that means your husband. We have to sacrifice something.”

You were beyond yourself. Your magic jumped through your fingers wildly. He watched you eyes wide holding his hands up in surrender. “Kid. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like it sounded.”

“How many times did he save your asses? Yet you continued to punish him. Was his repentance not enough for you?! He sacrificed his life for that stupid stone. I don’t see anyone sacrificing you.” You raised your hand to knock him on his ass when Thor bear hugged you and dragged you away.

“Little sister you must control your temper. I will let you go if you promise not to kill anyone.” You struggled for a moment then relaxed against his chest. He spoke softly against your hair, “I want him back too. I miss him. If you can control yourself there is a way.”

He told you the plan to retrieve both the space stone and mind stone at the point of Loki’s arrest in 2012. “When they create the diversion you help him escape.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“You’re clever. You’ll think of something.”

Neither of you were thinking clearly. This was a stupid and not at all thought out plan. Neither of you accounted for the fact that he would be under heavy guard. The 2012 Avengers wouldn’t know you so they would be far less sympathetic to you if you were caught. And the biggest risk of all was that 2012 Loki was going through some things and was definitely not the same man you felt in love with. In fact, you wouldn’t be surprised if he figured out a way to use you and kill you when you were no longer needed. None of that mattered to you.

He waited for you to simmer down so he could bring you inside. You were met with sympathetic eyes and knowing smiles. You wanted to rip them all apart. The last eyes on you were Steve’s.

He gave you a quick hug hello and beckoned you into the other room.

“I haven’t heard from you in a few weeks. You doing ok?

Eyes closed. Count to ten. Deep breath. Don’t explode at the man. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because if we couldn’t bring him back I would have to watch you lose him all over again and I can’t do that. Tony ran the possibilities, honey. He’s not coming back. I’m sorry.”

“Mhmm. Well I’m here so can I help?”

His lip quirked up on one side, “You sure can, Princess. You can watch the platform and electrocute anyone who comes near it.”

Condescending prick. “No. I want to come with you.”

“Nope” he said with a pop of his lips.

“Steve, please! I just want to see him again. I’ll stay with you the whole time. I promise. And don’t tell me it’s dangerous. You know I can handle myself. Please.” You grabbed his hands and forced him to look at you. “I just want to see him. What would you give for that chance? What would you give to see the woman you love again?”

His eyes softened, “I’m looking at her.”

Your cheeks flushed. “I’m not talking about me.”

He knew you were talking about Peggy. And, you were right, he’d give anything. He couldn’t deny you this one time chance.

“Fine. But you stick by me and you do. not. do. anything. Promise me.”

“I promise. Thank you. You’re a good man, Steve. I love you.” You hugged him around his waist and he felt in his bones that this was a bad decision. He considered this his final declaration of his adoration.

“I love you too, Princess. Always.” He pressed the two pieces of Yggdrasil into your palm. He had kept them all this time locked away in a box inside of his sock drawer. Your eyes started to get a little misty. He kissed the top of your head and spoke softly in your ear, “Always.”

You all suited up jumped on the platform and hit the buttons. You landed in a alley littered with rubble from the attack. Hulk ran by smashing everything in his path. You split up into your predetermined teams and went to your positions.

Once you were in your new gear you joined the other men and women guarding Loki.

The closer you got to him the stronger the pull. You were falling apart inside. Every muscle in your arms trembled forcing you to reach out. To touch him. Your breath hitched in your throat and came out like a quiet sob. They all heard it. You shifted uncomfortably in your suit and your body propelled itself in his direction.

“Y/n, you good?” you heard Steve speak. He held his breath when you got closer to your husband. “Y/n keep it together. We are so close, baby” You held your finger to your earpiece and a high pitched ringing filled your ear. You cut your comms. “Shit! Tony, stop her!”

You were close enough to him now that he would be able to feel you. He had to know that you meant him no harm. You spoke softly so only he could hear, “Don’t look at me. When I say ‘go’ grab the tasseract and go. Blink twice if you understand.” He blinked twice and you moved away.

It all happened so fast. Scott triggered the arc reactor to short out. Present day Tony escapes with the Tasseract. You were supposed to follow behind him which you did. You felt Hulk’s rage emanating from the stairwell. In one fluid motion you pushed Tony towards the door and kicked the case which opened at Loki’s feet. He reached for the cube when he felt your hand on him. “Go!” and you followed with him.

Scott Tony and Steve made it outside with the spear. They argued for a second before Tony realized you weren’t with them.

“Where is she? Steve! Oh I’m going to kill her!”

Steve smiled and shook his head. “Come on, Tony. We’ll find another way.”

When they went back to the base in Jersey Steve began to feel all of the things he suppressed for so many years. He was a man out of time and felt like he had no place in it. He just wanted to get it right. Right now he should be old and surrounded by grandchildren. He was done fighting.

He never expected to see Peggy but there she was. Peggy wanted those things too. His eyes followed the curve of her crimson lips that he dreamed of kissing for years. He thought about your words. What would he give? Everything. When this fight was over he would give up everything. He made his decision right then and there.

#loki x reader #Loki x y #steve rogers fanfic #marvel #marvel witches #captain america x reader #mcu x reader #loki laufeyson #steve rogers x reader #captain america smut #loki angst #avengers endgame #the avengers

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boop-le-snoot · 4 years

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PARTY FAVOURS | THE EMPEROR INTERLUDE

First time reader click here

A look on the relationship from Tony Stark's eyes. Should give you an insight as to how his character growth was plotted - that's hard to see through a first person POV so I came and delivered the "whys" behind his behaviour.

He felt the restless thrumming of the arc reactor between his ribs.

It was the first thing that drew focus of his mind as the situation at hand began to make sense. He was a clever man - the genius in him wasn't just for the academics; sure, he'd revolutionised the world once or twice or three times over the past ten years, but when it came to the rather delicate matters of the heart, he was as clueless as when he was a teenager.

The difference between then and now was only that he knew when to keep his mouth shut. It didn't matter how many poisonous articles the media sharks spewed out, he didn't hesitate to silence and shut every single one of them without a word to the one that started it all.

She lived blissfully by his side. The papers took their worst: without a direct statement, they speculated and called him a cradle robber, a moralless skirt chaser, every name in the book. She wasn't spared too: despite her young age, her social standing and vulture of a mother, the occasional "opportunistic gold-digger" comment made it's way into the NYC socialite column. She never uttered a peep, never shed a tear or even complained and he was utterly fascinated by it.

The world she was living in was much different that the one he was used to. The younger generation used to confuse him but now it was just terrifying; amongst her peers, only the most bitter, jaded ones expressed their disdain towards the press speculations. He'd taken to scrolling through the comments of her social media to make sure she knew what she was getting into by having a relationship with him; the outcome was bizarre - he didn't expect a positive response whatsoever but there they were, people born in the beginning of a new millennia, excited for her, showing their support for the girl who already had made a name for herself in the scientific community.

Another surprise - she was full of them, each day was like opening presents on christmas morning. Banner had nearly turned green when he found out that the "papichulosatan" he was corresponding with on an invite-only biological sciences themed forum was actually a teenager - she had been 16 at the time. Apparently, the inhabitants of the entire planet Earth except for the residents of his tower knew that she was something... Something else.

Not a child, not quite a woman. She hadn't acquired that bittersweetness that Tony associated with women his own age, like Pepper and many more he'd tried to form a relationship with. His girl was pure of heart, clear of soul, but in a way that complimented her maturity. Ever since that fateful night he spent two hours running around the NYC's trendiest clubs just to find her sitting alone with a sense of pride rivaling his own, he couldn't stop thinking about her. She was always on his mind and it was terrifying.

It wasn't like she suddenly made his life entirely something else; rather than changing him, she quietly complimented him in a way that suited them both. They didn't really fight because there wasn't anything to fight about. Sure, they disagreed on things all the time, but the unspoken rule to not force something on one another stood. He learned that with Pepper and she- she seemed to be emotionally mature on her own.

That's what his therapist had said, anyway, surprising herself and him. It was evident that the woman thought, to some extent, that he had made her up. But the honeymoon period passed - and Bruce had joined them - and shit happened, but she still stood quietly by his side, not intruding into his personal space but offering him a shoulder to lean on whenever he needed it. Ever since that, Tony began to feel truly invincible. Not a single event in his life had made him feel this powerful.

She went and made friends with Loki, the unlikeliest of people, and she stood by him, too, seemingly a neverending readiness to tear anyone, who dared to make a negative remark about him, limb from limb. Knowingly or not, she had patched the hole in the team - a gaping, bleeding one, of mistrust and unnecessary cautiousness, and continued to do so every single day without a care in the world. Not just him, Tony Stark, but all of the Avengers were invincible with a back-up like that.

Realistically, Tony knew they still had ways to go. They were begrudging friends at first but now the bonds strengthened; even as his disregard for Rogers lessened, the man himself was taking steps to control his impulsivity and temper. Tony hated that it had to be a teenager cowering in fear in front of Steve for the man to realise his good intentions didn't always get the best results. Tony was grateful to Loki he'd stepped in that time. While he didn't think Rogers would actually strike a woman, two hundred pounds of genetically engineered bulk of muscle towering and yelling over you was no less terrifying.

At least it started to turn gears in that steroid brain of his.

Everything after that seemed like a dream. Quiet and witty until provoked, his girl was insatiable for him in a way that matched his own hunger for her. It was never just sex with her, somehow, each time he was inside her it felt like revelations. They'd sit for hours, her in his lap, his half-hard cock buried deep inside her welcoming heat, sometimes working and sometimes just listening to each other's gentle breathing. All the love songs started to make sense.

Seeing Bruce, his second best friend and partner in crime, handle her like he did provoked an opposite reaction of what he was expecting of himself. Tony had been terrified of her leaving him, every single day, no matter how many times his ugly, rotten inside showed itself and she still accepted him; with time, the ache dulled, but it never fully went away.

Bruce put a gentle band-aid on it, unknowingly of course - the scientist was too busy taming his own demons to look out for Tony's - but he went to Tony and laid his cards out on the table. Not backing down and not being sorry for himself either, so neutral it made Tony's heart hurt. They both had come to an agreement, of course, but she went and shredded it and showed them fair and square that they both - all three of them - could get what they wanted only if they worked on themselves a little bit.

For the first time in their lives, the men were truly motivated. There was none of that manipulative undertone that Pepper liked to use on Tony - "you're an adult man, you should be doing and feeling this or that or I'll have to leave you" - there were just gentle hands and even gentler words and no expectations. One day at a time, every single one of them was learning, happily so.

And it wasn't until Natasha had ambushed him in his workshop that he realised, another one of many firsts, that this was what healthy love was supposed to be. There were no obligations, no covert contracts, not one thing that made the whole 'committment' shiding so toxic and terrifying.

Somehow, Natasha knew. "If you hurt her, that's on you. She won't run the first time, and the second time, it's going to be the straw that broke the camel's back... And I would pity you if that happens. Because people like her... They are dangerous when they are hurt. She would gut you like a pig."

Tony's ears were ringing; he wanted to laugh at the absurd thought of this understanding, kind human being acting maliciously. But all he could focus on was Natasha's choice of words: "If... If..." If, not when. Did the spy really think the three of them stood a chance?

Natasha had unceremoniously picked up and chugged his long-cold coffee, gracefully hopping up on the table. "You two are more alike than you think. Figured you'd be self-absorbed enough to choose a carbon copy of yourself," With that, the Russian left, leaving a gaping Tony to stare into the nearest wall. His brain registered it was a joke way too late, the fury that crawled up to burn his throat was cooled by disbelief. If Romanoff thought he was even half as kind and thoughtful as his girl, was it really an insult? Damn those puzzling Russian spies.

Bruce had come not much later, shaken and pale but not green, so deep in thought that he ran into lab equipment twice before ending up in the same place that was occupied by Romanoff minutes earlier. He muttered something about Loki and a pep-talk; things that sounded more like a discussion with his green side, so Tony left him alone.

The shift in Bruce's and Hulk's dynamic was visible to the naked eye ever since that long night in the lab where they both watched Peter and her working on something personal, perfect symbiosis, well-oiled scientific research machine, unlike themselves. Both of them choking on jealousy and acrid, ravenous envy, feelings too inappropriate but too obvious to conceal. Peter's crush on her was just as obvious and her disinterest was just as transparent. But the what-ifs had eaten at them both until they had to spew them out, and the Hulk had been the pushing force for them to begin to act like adults.

Hulk had proposed, in his limited vocabulary and much too passionate tone, to protect the puny Princess at all costs. Bruce didn't resist much and Tony jumped on the bandwagon as soon as he could. It was the only logical solution.

That's why Tony threw the party; he could not care less about Barnes' desire to see Rogers in something trashy and slutty on all Hallows Eve. He couldn't give any less fucks about the press that was raving for another Stark party. He did care a little about Strange's wounded ego: the man fascinated him, like any other strong-willed, independent character, but nothing more. Tony wanted to know what would make the sorcerer tick.

Tony wanted to give his baby girl the world.

And then, he failed.

Tony felt as if someone had poured a bucket of waste right over his head when his- their baby girl had come in, shaking and hiding behind a furious Loki and announced in a monotone voice that she'd been drugged. Something inside of him broke, snapped just like the pencil that Strange was holding next to him.

Bruce hulked out and Tony felt as if he himself would burst any second. His Princess was fearless, he knew it, yet couldn't help his heart from skipping a beat when she approached the green beast with the same kindness she treated all of her closest people. Tony didn't hesitate to follow the Hulk's orders, eager to channel the murderous rage and regretful anguish somewhere; it just spiraled out of hand. Once again, his head was underwater as his life spiraled further and further into lightless abyss and he was alone-

And then all of a sudden, he was warm. Not on the outside, but on the inside - the arms around his shoulders were comforting like an old, worn out sweater, familiar. Missing s couple of threads and spouting a couple of holes - imperfect, but utterly his. Her breathing steady but a little bit shaky, hands holding on just a little too tight.

You two are too much alike, he remembered Natasha's words. That was probably her way of showing just how scared she was. She could be as terrified of his reaction as of the person who did... That... To her. In his house. Tony wasn't stupid; he could put two and two together. That wasn't the time to mope or wallow in self-pity, it was the time to remove the foreseeable threat.

The team stood in silent agreement. A rare moment of absolute unity, all interpersonal issues pushed aside and locked away. Coulson's side-eye was of cosmic magnitude but nobody paid it any mind. It was very unlikely that even the agent himself would be able to stop Natasha and Clint from dealing with the guy; as more and more details came forward, the clouds in the room thickened.

Nobody batted an eye when Baby was, yet once again, the voice of reason and the operation Baby Thief began progressing forward smoothly. Tony reasoned what himself that letting her go with Strange was the best option - even the billionaire himself could not get a better combo than a sorcerer and a doctor that very day.

The box was retrieved; the mere presence ff it and the terse atmosphere it brought into the room reminded all of them too much of the Tesseract and it's effects. Loki was, perhaps, the worst of them all: pacing like an agitated animal, the god growled under his breath at his brother who was clouded with grief and worry. Tony found himself asking "what would Baby do" and came to a conclusion - nothing that wouldn't require him to step over his pride.

In the end, he conceded. A simple "Walk with me", but it was an obvious olive branch extended to Loki and the Asgardian knew it. He wasn't stupid enough to refuse a truce offering in a situation like that. They walked laps around the SHIELD base in neutral silence, slow steps, each lost in their respective thoughts but being finally able to breathe with a full chest. Thankfully, nobody made a remark that they both returned as soon as the box was secured and placed in temporary containment for Strange to pick it up.

For the second time in those 24 hours, Tony's arc reactor all but buzzed in response to his skyrocketing heart rate. She'd called - Loki's phone - and she sounded broken. All of them froze at the exhaustion in her voice; there was nothing but emptiness in the whispers. Nothing that made her, her.

The scene in front of them was something straight out of a B-rated horror movie. Tony thought Loki had reached the apex of his anger earlier; evidently, the engineer had been very wrong and godspeed to the people who managed to piss off the moody Asgardian. It appeared as his magic exploded out of him, all but knocking the people behind him into the walls of the Sanctum.

Their Baby, laying on the floor and the people who swore to protect her beside her, it set Tony's blood ablaze. It boiled, tipping the heat if his temper dangerously close to it's boiling point. She spoke to them, voice shaky and her own fire - it was burning at least as strong as his blood, something had happened and something had hurt her...

Belatedly, he realised Natasha had been right. She was dangerous. There was nothing of the sad, scared girl that came to Bruce whenever she had been upset; there was no desperation for validation, the very same she'd thought she hid well but it seeped through the cracks of her self-deprecating jokes.

Something... Or someone... Had threatened something vital to her. And she was going to make sure they never, ever get the chance to do that again.

I got a comment on AO3, where I also posted this, complimenting my world building. I took a moment to think about it and I understood that to make the story more saturated I had to include some of the other's POVs. So y'all can count on more of these. And if you feel like the x doctor Strange pairing isn't being fully explored - I am aware of that, it's going to be explored more. After all, it took us 10 chapters for Bruce and Tony respectively, and Stephen is a slightly more complicated man. That said, we'll have some more interactions with him shortly. Thank you for your continuous support, guys. I may not remember every single one of your nicknames my heart but I see the likes and I definitely notice whenever a new person binges on this fic. What originally started as an excuse to write hot boomer porn has now grown into something that's a whole damn book and that's because of you guys being so amazing. I love you all 3000.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub @mostly-marvel-musings @vozit @littlegasps @pilloclock @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads @hermione-grangers-wife @individualistfem @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby @cutenessloading @romeo-the-cactus @jelly-fishy-babie @mikariell95

#party favours #bun writes #tony stark x y/n #tony stark x reader #tony stark x you

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arukou-arukou · 5 years

Text

Just A Really Very Intelligent System

Been thinking about this one for a while. Finally managed to write it. Rating: T for “Language.” (It just kinda slipped out.) Characters: Tony Stark & JARVIS

----

He is in one of the most dangerous situations of his life trying to save the whole freaking universe by watching a man the size of a dust bunny wriggle into the hairline of his younger self, so it would be really, really bad if he happened to have a heart attack. Older him that is. But he nearly does go into cardiac arrest when he hears an old friend in his ear.

“Verify immediately. Failure to verify will result in an activation of level one security protocols.”

His tongue is stuck to the roof of his mouth and his palms are sweating, but somehow he manages to whisper out: “Edwin-12-19-91-4-8-47-Alpha Override.”

“Override accepted. Sir?”

“Hey, J.”

“Sir, you have imbued me with considerable computing power, and yet never did you prepare me for the possibility of you being in two places at once.”

“Yeah, about that. You haven’t said anything to Mr. Quipster over there, have you?”

“Not as yet, Sir. You wish me to keep it that way?”

“It would really help me out, buddy.”

“Very well, Sir.”

Tony wants to stay longer, to talk, to warn JARVIS, to cry, but he has places to be, things to do, planets to save. Scott’s safely positioned, so Tony yeets himself out of the building to get to the ground floor. He doesn’t know why he thought that would make JARVIS disappear.

“I see, Sir, that your proclivities for leaping before looking are unchanged.”

Another near heart attack--he’s gradually phased Friday out of his ears now that the nanotech is connected directly to his nervous system, so he’s not exactly used to AI voices anymore--but he recovers more quickly. “You’re always there to catch me, J.”

“And yet my systems are not present in your suit, Sir. I see codal remnants of system designation FRIDAY, but nothing of myself.”

Tony remains silent. This is such a terrible time to be feeling all the feelings. He spots a grunt who looks more or less unimportant and knocks the guy out. Part of him wants to warn SHIELD about their shit security, but then again, this guy’s probably Hydra and he deserves every bruise he gets. He senses JARVIS in his systems, a ghost in the shell.

“You no longer have the reactor. And if I’m not mistaken, that is gray in your hair. So you are not my Sir.”

“Well, yes and no.”

“I suppose it would destroy the spacetime continuum for you to divulge the truth to me.”

“You’re too smart for me, J,” Tony grunts as he yanks on the bullet-proof tac vest. “It’s kind of a long story, and while I technically have all the time in the world, I also really, really don’t.”

He sidles into the lobby and looks toward his personal elevator, waiting for the Avengers to appear. J is quiet so long Tony wonders if he’s being preoccupied by...well, just about anything. Damaged internal systems, a Cap copy on the loose, a second Hulk out there, panicked calls from Pepper. But then JARVIS speaks again.

“Regardless of the tale, I must conclude that you are from the future, and I am no longer by your side.”

Tony is fucking choking up. He was not ready for this. It didn’t even cross his mind. And the fucking elevator is opening. There’s Pierce, the rat bastard, trying to collect the Tesseract.

“I hope I did not disappoint you, Sir.”

“Never, J. Never.” Fuck fuck fuck, he’s nearly crying and now Scott is on the com waiting for the go-ahead. Tony channels his pain into panic and orders his own cardiac arrest.

“Sir, what are you--”

Thank god, his younger self is on the ground and that’s apparently all the distraction J needs to abandon older Tony. Tesseract incoming. Tony grabs it and starts going and--

Blinking stars out of his eyes he watches as Loki makes off with the key, the thing they most needed, the damn stone that started all of this way back when Cap was a starry-eyed beanpole in World War II. He has just biffed saving the entire damn universe because of an overgrown Star Trek reject with anger issues. And now he has a migraine to boot.

Frozen in shame and horror, Tony watches as Thor attempts ill-advised cardiac electro-stim. Scott’s somewhere out there, yammering in Tony’s ear on the private channel, but all of that is just a buzzing.

“Sir? Sir. Sir!”

And J. Maybe Tony should cry now. It certainly feels like the time for it. One of the other SHIELD grunts is making her way toward him, so he staggers to his feet, waving her off and limping toward the door. Think. Think, brain, think. Tony is a genius, the man who invented time travel, the man who miniaturized arc reactor technology. A spaceship? SHIELD’s probably got one somewhere. Maybe they could chase after Loki.

“SIR!” How many times JARVIS has shouted his title, Tony has no idea, but this one is so loud it sets his teeth on edge.

“Yeah, J? Kind of busy here.”

“Giving yourself a heart attack, Sir?” JARVIS was programmed to be cool and calm in all circumstances, but Tony could swear that sentence was uttered with seething rage.

“I’m fine. Look at me.”

“Only by some measure of infinitesimal luck, Sir. Perhaps I should ask you to verify your identity one more time, as you seem intent on killing yourself.”

“No, J. I’ve actually got a lot of reasons to live. And so does he. Promise.” Tony is so tired. Was being an Avenger always this exhausting? Or is it just that he’s bumped over that damnable big 5-0? And Cap’s gonna ream him too. That’s never any fun.

“I’m...glad to hear it, Sir.”

And fuck it. It’s not like this will alter Tony’s timeline anyway. This reality is now on a different trajectory thanks to Severus Snape Lite. “Her name’s Morgan. You’d love her, J. Just turned four. She got my hair. Hope to god she didn’t get my personality.”

“Do I meet her, Sir?”

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck it.

“J, you should dig a little deeper into SHIELD’s systems. Well, actually, a lot deeper. And the Pentagon while you’re at it. And track down Maya Hansen from that conference in 1999 and poach her from whatever outfit she’s working for. Immediately. Make sure she brings all her vet patients with her. And, uh, when I start talking about a suit of armor around the world, steer me away from anything called Ultron. And if I make it anyway, you delete the fuck out of that system file. Have Bruce back you up. He’s more sensible.”

“Sir, I don’t--”

“And have me make back-ups. At least three extra farms of servers for you. On different continents. And all those SHIELD files? Make sure Cap and Fury get them. And there’s...there’s this guy. This assassin. Brainwashed. He’s, uh, I think he’s on ice in Uzbekistan right now. If you could rescue him, it’ll...it’ll fix a lot of things.”

“Should you really--”

“And, please. Please please.”

Tony is not crying. He’s not. It’s just all the dust and debris in the air. Good lord, he’s probably going to die of cancer anyway. And all those first responders. Did he start a fund for them?

“Start a medical fund for the first responders on the ground today. And start leaning on Congressmen to make medical plans for them. You know how long they take to get anything done. Oh, and Stern. There are incriminating photos of Stern with some young ladies on South Beach. See if you can dig those up. Flowers for Pep. And a box of chocolates. And a dry martini with extra olives.”

Tony slumps into a burned out car, staring at nothing. He didn’t save his universe, but maybe he can save this one. His eyes are still irritated, burning red and itchy. He resists the urge to scrub at them, not wanting to grind in anymore dust.

“Are you quite finished, Sir?”

“Yeah. Actually, no. I love you, J.”

Silence. Ah. That’s stumped him. Maybe he’ll go back to tending his new posse of baby chicks now.

“I know you probably do not believe me capable of it, Sir, but I love you, too.”

His son. The only one he’ll ever make, but not the only one he’s lost. His son loves him. Tony’s throat is full of dust, too. Funny how that happens. He tries to swallow it down, but it only congeals into a hard lump. He puts a hand over his mouth to try and hold back any choking sounds. “I...I know you do, J.”

“As to your orders, I shall do what I can. It is my duty to protect you, Sir, and I would very much like to meet your little Morgan.”

“She might not exist here. I might’ve just changed everything.”

“If there is one thing I have learned from all my years with you, Sir, it is that perhaps such a thing as fate exists after all. Even mathematically speaking. And if that is the case, I cannot imagine a universe in which you are not fated to this happiness.”

Tony laughs, if only to keep from crying harder. And he is. Crying, that is. As if he was fooling anyone. Happiness? Him? Happy people don’t wake in the night screaming for a pile of dust in their hands. Happy people don’t spend hours coordinating relief efforts for countries whose entire infrastructural support has collapsed. Happy people don’t hurl themselves back in time, driven by guilt and horror at all the wrongs in the world. J, brilliant, wonderful AI that he is, seems to sense the dark turn of Tony’s thoughts.

“And if you yourself cannot believe in this thing, Sir, then I shall just have to do everything in my power to provide it for you.”

Another guffaw, but at least his eyes are drying a little now. “God, I miss you, J.”

“I believe your small teammate is approaching, Sir. If I may inquire, was it the Tesseract you were seeking?”

“You mean the stupid blue cube of doom? That’s the one.”

“And you say you have the means to time travel?”

“Yeah, J. We do. But only enough to get back to our time.”

“A limitation has never stopped you before, Sir.” JARVIS sounds thoughtful, as if he’s forming a plan.

Tony would ask him what he’s scheming at, but just at that moment, Scott embiggens himself and slumps into the car with Tony. That road is closed, then. They are out of options. Out of Pym particles. Out of time. Out of hope.

Until they aren’t. Just as Tony is setting his device for their new destination, J pipes up again, for Tony’s ears only. “You say you miss me, Sir. Then allow me to give you a small gift.”

Tony is pressing the buttons, and even if they weren’t already shrinking into the quantum tunnel, he wouldn’t be able to ask exactly what J means. It’s only when he and Cap arrive in 1970 that he has his first gleaning. In his ear, a voice. One so unexpected he nearly jumps into Cap’s arms. “Hello, System Administrator Anthony Edward Stark. I am System Designation EDWIN. ‘Eagerly Deployed With Intent to Neutralize Loneliness.’ I am told to tell you the “L” is silent and invisible. How may I best serve you today, Sir?”

Cap is staring at Tony like Tony’s lost his mind. And maybe he has. He’s been bugged by his own damn operating system. With a bouncing baby AI. And if Steve finds out, he’ll probably have a conniption about the spacetime continuum or something. So the only logical thing Tony can do is say, “Let’s find some Pym particles.”

“Acknowledged, Sir. Commencing scanning.”

-----

(In this reality EDWIN saves the fuck out of Tony’s life and everyone lives happily ever after and EDWIN builds JARVIS from scratch so he’s back or something, okay? Okay.)

#writing #fanfiction #tony stark #jarvis

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beccarooni · 5 years

Text

Prison Break

(The sequel to Alone is here! I had a few requests for there to be a part 2 to this, and with my christmas trade with @astrobruce coming up i figured what better way to wrap up the decade than with a prison break. Enjoy!)

He didn’t know how long they’d both been there. There was a lot about their current situation that he found he didn’t know, really. Their location, for a start. He couldn’t feel anything of the outside air, as if the sky itself had been closed off from him. Thor hadn’t felt like that since…well, since Odin had cast him out, really.

At least he knew Bruce was beside him. He couldn’t see the scientist - or his green companion, but being Asgardian had its privileges. The weather may have been barred from him, but Bruce’s breathing rang true in his ears if he wished to listen to it. The coolness of the metal against his cheek as he placed his ear to the wall, the soft tones of Bruce trying to talk to him - and his ability to talk back. It made the whole ordeal a lot less unbearable.

He was sure he would’ve been fine if it had been just that. Just a prison, a monitoring, nothing more. But of course, fate wasn’t so kind to him. Not when he woke one day from a sleep he didn’t remember entering, staring with abject horror at the machinery that was now lining his arms. Metal coils circling him like snakes, and he felt the freezing material of something against the back of his neck.

And Ross was there, standing in front of him, toying with some kind of activator in his hand.

Thor’s voice was hoarse, with disuse and something he’d swear wasn’t fear. It wasn’t. He was Thor, God of Thunder. And he was not scared of a man in a pressed suit with a trimmed mustache.

“I know you must feel very powerful with us being here,”

He nodded in the direction of where Bruce’s cell was, trying his best to picture him alive and well and not the cold, shaking figure that haunted his dreams in the few hours of sleep he’d been able to get.

“Very powerful, and very strong. But please, listen to me. This is a bad idea. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

He swallowed, taking a few steps towards the glass - or as many as his now limited mobility would allow.

“I don’t even know how these powers work - not really. I thought I did when I had mjolnir, but now I don’t, and I have no idea what’s going to happen if you press that button. You…You can’t do this.”

Ross, for a moment, seemed to consider this. In the face of the unnatural, on the brink of accessing a raw force of nature, he did what any human would do. When faced with the passage to the northern seas, with the mountainous ice caps that loomed over ships and the biting wind that froze fingers and cracked skin - people had hesitated before drawing out the maps.

They’d considered the pros and the cons, used their heads, used caution.

Ross’s fingers wavered above the control panels, his face set in stone.

Thor shook his head mutely, the eloquent phrases and elaborate threats and ominous forebodings he’d picked up from a cave somewhere long ago boiling down into one word. One syllable.

“Please."

Ross frowned. The air was still.

Until he pressed down, and Thor’s world tilted in the corner of his vision, dissolving into a burning white that for a moment seemed suspended between the here and now. For a moment, nothing touched him. His body was not his own.

Until it was.

Until his soul was dragged, screaming back into his body, and he felt every jolt that ran through his veins.

Standing tall through that storm was a feat that none could have achieved. The strongest ships still stood a chance of sinking, the most hardened sailors could still drown when faced with cold waters.

Thor didn’t want to drown.

Not with Bruce on the other side of the wall. Not when their miraculous escape hadn’t happened yet, and he still had promises left to fulfil - tales of tea and warmth and some old sappy movie that he still needed to tell.

For a moment, the thought of it worked.

And then the pain redoubled, and he didn’t have moments anymore.

***

The grate was cold, and Bruce was panicking.

Of course, maybe it was a little late in the day to start panicking. Given that he was being held by General Ross who had made his plans to dissect him abundantly clear in the past. But, he’d always had Thor. His rage, his sorrow, his storms echoing off of the sides of the chamber. The creeping feeling of static that seemed to sink through his skin itself had always been there, right when he needed it.

And now it wasn’t.

He didn’t have the booming tones of his demi-god. His spaceman. He didn’t have anything to prove that he was even alive-

Bruce’s breath caught in a throat that was growing tighter by the minute, and for a few moments he teetered on the edge of the abyss, his mind reeling and the corners of his eyes growing wet and hot.

“No.”

He sniffed, wiping his face and attempting to set his features into something cold - something strong. Unbreakable.

‘Hulk, now’s the time. We can’t wait any longer - we’re leaving.’

The larger than life presence shrunk further into the back of his mind, but Bruce wasn’t giving up. Not now. He reached out, pressed at something until it was painful, grabbed the remnants of a flaming childhood by the shoulders and stared his giant in the eyes - metaphorically speaking, of course.

‘I know you’re cold. And I know you’re hurting, and I wish I could take that away from you. But Thor needs our help - he might be hurt, or scared, or…’

Bruce didn’t want to finish the sentence, but Hulk seemed to understand. The presence that had been retreating rapidly into the back of his mind froze, turned, metaphorical ears turned back to Bruce to listen.

‘Blondie not dead,’ Hulk mumbled, and Bruce caught the faintest of tremors in that cavern - deep voice.

‘No, I know. I’m sorry for scaring you.’

Bruce cradled his hand to his chest, tracing his thumb feather-light over the freshly made wounds - still glaring and red even under the shadow of artificial night.

‘But we have to help him. And I need you to get us out of here, big guy. You think you can do that for me?’

‘Hulk tired.’

‘I know.’ Bruce snapped, and immediately regretted it when the presence seemed to shrink away again. He sighed, shaking his head mutedly, his voice falling to softer tones.

‘I know, Hulk. And I promise after this is over, we can take a break. As long as we like. But I just need you to do this one thing for me’.

Hulk stilled for a moment, the corners of his mind growing quiet.

And then his bones began to ache, but for once, the familiar battle for dominance and control wasn’t being held. He stepped back, with a slow and careful breath, passing the torch over to the one thing strong enough to get them out of there.

‘You got this, big guy. Let’s go get our demigod back.’

‘And smash Ross.’

‘Yeah.’ Bruce felt himself grinning as he relinquished control of the wheel.

‘Smash Ross.’

***

And a few dark seconds later, Bruce was stumbling onto the floor, faced with a different problem. He hadn’t even gotten that much prompting - in fact, he’d been all for leaning into this more recent development when abruptly he’d been shoved back into reality, broken glass digging into the skin of his knees as his world reformed itself before his eyes.

‘Hulk? What the hell happened?’

‘Blondie wrong.’

‘What?’

Hulk made one final pushing motion, green eyes blinking away the last of the blurriness, leaving Bruce face to face with the problem.

Thor was standing in the center of the cell, staring at the ceiling with unseeing eyes, the familiar ocean blue blocked out entirely by a pulsing glow of white.

Sparks of lightning flew from his body - a body that was bruised, broken, and teetering as if it was on the edge of collapse. Bruce wasn’t even sure what was holding Thor up at this point. If it was the electrodes that lined his demi-gods arms, or if it was the lightning - each fork forcing him ram-rod straight, suspended like a puppet from glowing strings.

“Thor?”

Bruce managed to croak out, taking one tentative step inward.

“Can you hear me?”

If he could, he made no sign of it. Just kept staring at that point in the ceiling - the only real movement being the occasional twitch of his hands.

A sharp jolt ran through Thor’s body as an arc of lightning surged, and for a moment, Bruce worried for the stability of the room. The electrodes buzzed, lights flickered, and it was then he remembered that scene on the bridge. The clouds darkening, the golden spires of Asgard being torn apart by an unnatural storm - that had been Thor.

It was difficult to remember that, sometimes. To look at the man who had spent 5 months marvelling over the invention of the frappuccino, who wore pyjama bottoms printed with the Hulk’s face, and see a storm of nature.

It made all the news reports seem somehow even more fake. He’d heard the words that they’d said about him, obviously. Bulletins that scrolled across screens, screaming of alien invasions and freak weather conditions and interdimensional conquerors.

Seeing Thor like that was hard.

Confronting the raw force of an elemental God was somehow even harder.

Because Thor was there. He was right in front of him, he was there.

But at the same time, he wasn’t.

This wasn’t Thor. Thor wasn’t an unfeeling storm, a force of destruction and only destruction. He’d always been so much more than what people expected him to be. A warrior, a prince, an Avenger. Throughout all of it he’d even managed to be a friend. And then something closer than that.

It may have been strange, but despite the pain of it all, Bruce was beginning to feel a little bit brave.

Thor was still in there. And someone needed to save him.

Bruce Banner tightened his jaw, stepping further into the eye of the storm.

Working in the fields he did, Bruce had learned a few things about routine, and it’s importance. About taking things slow - not lethargic, but slow. Careful. Following instructions, and biting back the panic that was threatening to boil over.

Bruce was a doctor, at the end of the day. He didn’t get those phd’s for nothing, after all.

And if treating Thor as a patient was what was going to get them through this, then that’s what he would do.

Carefully, Bruce walked forward. Carefully, he stepped over broken glass and warped metal, his eyes catching sight of the grate that connected the two cells together - burned beyond repair.

Carefully, Bruce raised his arms, cupping Thor’s face in his hands, looking for any sign of life within the burning lightning.

Looking for anything that could remind him of the man who had saved his life countless times, and who he’d like to say he’d saved in return.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I just -”

Bruce was cut off by a yelp, as a stray spark of electricity shot up his arm. He stumbled backwards, Hulk rearing his head, and he felt his veins flush with green, but he needed control for this.

Hushing Hulk back down to the corner of his mind, Bruce cradled his injured arm, and began his journey again.

Calloused fingers brushed against the electrodes against Thor’s arms, cramped muscles strained as he brought himself to a tiptoe until the cold metal that had been fixed on to the back of Thor’s neck met his hand.

He frowned in sympathy, in anger, and a whole lot of emotions he didn’t necessarily recognise at the moment.

It shouldn’t have come to this. The negotiations should never have been able to reach this point - where strapping in a person, a friend, and harvesting their power was apparently an ok response. Bruce swore to himself that he would protect Thor, if he needed to.

And it was about damn time to start fulfilling that promise.

“So, I don’t know if you can hear me. Or if you’re even still in there. But, just in case you are, I need you to listen,”

Bruce swallowed nervously, fingers latching on to the cold, unfeeling metal, tightening round it until he couldn’t grip any further.

“You told me we were going to get out of here. That at the end of the day, we’d be at home, and things would be ok again. Now, I know you’re not a liar - at least, not to me. So I’m gonna hold you to that standard, and trust you not to kill me when I do this. Ok?”

Thor didn’t respond, but Bruce hoped that maybe it had helped.

If any of it had reached him, he’d count it as a success in this point. Because the universe couldn’t be that cruel, could it? It wouldn’t force a barrier between them, and break it down, only for there to be another one in place.

That couldn’t happen.

No, Thor could always hear him. It was a perk of being Asgardian. Thor would hear him, and Bruce could hear him, too.

He didn’t need a metal grate, or a buzzing of static to hear his spaceman.

The storm was alive. Thor was alive.

And they were getting out of here.

Bruce pulled, and the room was plunged into darkness.

***

Things got a little foggy, after that. He remembered a few details - a warm body falling against him not long after the power had given out. Heavy, with veins that still retained a faint blue-ish glow, but warm.

Hulk had taken over not long after that. Pulled the two of them out through the crumbling prison, and ok, maybe he’d smashed an office on the way.

Ross hadn’t been there. Part of him was disappointed, but another was relieved. Honestly, he didn’t know if he could hurt anymore people. And Hulk seemed to share the same sentiment. A sense of exhaustion, that made him more than a little worried. Because this had been too close. The danger just a little too real - and sure, flying robots and aliens were also very real.

But they’d faced those threats as a team.

The Avengers, Revengers, whoever - there’d always been someone watching someones back.

Here had been too vulnerable. For both of them.

Thor hadn’t woken up just yet, at least, not fully. He’d stirred briefly when they’d gotten to something resembling a safehouse, but he hadn’t been making much sense. Not according to Bruce, anyway.

Hulk seemed to understand more than he did. Which was weird, considering he hadn’t been there for most of it. Bruce was used to doing the comforting, the shushing, being the calming voice and the mediating opinion.

It was strange seeing Hulk do the same. Watching large green fingers brush through Thor’s hair, hearing low tones grumble words of reassurance.

It was nice. But strange.

Even stranger when Hulk had turned those words on Bruce, and insisted he get a proper nights rest.

‘Hulk keep watch. Banner sleep.’

Bruce had hesitated, feeling the overwhelming urge to fidget with his hands that only really resulted in Hulk twitching his fingers.

‘You’re sure you’re gonna be ok?’

‘Hulk fine. Banner sleep.’

‘Alright, but if you need anything -’

‘Banner sleep.’

‘Ok. But only for a bit.’

He paused, taking one last look through the small viewing window he was able to find.

Thor was asleep, too. Nestled in Hulk’s arms, face pressed somewhere between the crook of his elbow - thick, green skin stifling loud snores like the rolling of thunder.

‘Night, Hulk.’

‘Night, Banner.’

#thorbruce #thor #bruce banner #hulk #thorhulk #gammahammer #thunderscience #christmas exchange #fic sequel #fanfic #angst with a happy ending #thor!whump #thor whump

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fanficsaremylifeline · 4 years

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Fandom: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Summary:

Tired of Tony and Steve's constant fighting and bickering, the other Avengers sentence them to couple's therapy.

***

“DAMN YOU, STARK!”

Ugh, it was way to early for this, Tony was only two coffees in and dealing with Steve required at least two more cups. His holy coffein intake didn't seem to matter to Steve though, as he came storing into the living room, interrupting Tony and Rhodey's highly intelligent discussion about Jeopardy.

“What?”, Tony shot over; he was however pretty sure that he didn't want to know and most certainly didn't care.

“When the milk is empty, just throw the damn carton out! Is that so hard?”, Steve moaned and gestured around with the empty carton.

“And who says it was me?” Steve was completely right, it had been Tony. But before he'd admit to that, hell'd freeze over.

“Please, can we not argue about it like five-year olds? Just throw out the milk so I know to get a new one.” With a sigh and an exasperated and frankly quite condescending eye roll that Tony did not miss, Steve turned and walked out again.

“For fuck's sake”, Rhodey groaned, once the door had closed behind the super soldier. “Correct me if I'm wrong, JARVIS, but that puts the milk-fights somewhere in the mid-twenties, right?”

“It was indeed the 26th time Stark and Rogers have fought over the milk”, JARVIS reported. “Add that to the 19 discussions about profanity, 23 about appropriate levels of music during night time, 11 about Star Wars, 17 about Star Wars before Captain Rogers had seen them, 28 about how to make proper coffee, 24 about cars vs motorbikes, 16 about Monopoly and 8 about how to pronounce GIF. Together that makes 172 in the last 16 days.”

“You kept fucking count?”, Tony groaned. “you Rainman...”

“No, not Rainman. I currently feel like something between Ms Doubtfire and Mary Poppins. So either you two get your shit together or I'll turn all Nurse Ratchett/ Ms Trunchbull on your asses, capiche?”

“Yes, Mum...”

“Just get your damn coffee”, Rhodey grumbled and turned his attention back to the rerun of Jeopardy.

“Ok, but hear me out.” Tony pulled up the holographic model to show Bruce what he was talking about. “If we manage a miniscule version of the arc reactor, the Hulkbuster wouldn't be just some giant armour, but could fulfil some minor automated functions.”

“What kind of automation are we talking about here?” Having that powerful a reactor comprised into something that was supposed to take down Hulk, without blowing up an entire city block... Bruce wasn't too sure about that.

“Mostly for movement. We're talking about copious amounts of weight here, and without some form of automation, Thor'll be the only one who can actually move in it.”

“Yeah, I get that. It's just... Does it have to be arc-technology? Last time it was Hulk against Ironman, I almost blew up half of New York and was this close to giving you a heart attack.”

“But that's why we need to make it smaller so...”

“TONY!”

Ugh, not again. Steve stormed into the workshop and stared Tony down.

“Steve, please. Me and Tony are very busy and...”

The super soldier barely graced Bruce with as much as a fleeting glance and pointed right at Stark. “Next time you're hungry, stay the hell away from my leftovers!”

“Right, because I would voluntarily eat your sprouts with cabbage and shit”, Tony scoffed and turned back to the Hulkbuster model.

“Every time I put my name on it. And of all the Avengers you're the only one disrespectful enough to ignore that.”

“Oh, so now I'm disrespectful?”

That was it for Bruce. Those two could continue for hours like that and Bruce was not gonna do that to himself. And, as much as hulking out might help to get those two idiots in line, Bruce really was not keen on doing that either.

Neither seemed to notice him leaving the lab and after the door had closed behind him, Bruce leaned with a heavy sigh against the wall. “JARVIS? What's the count?”

“193.”

“Boss, your presence is required in the briefing room.”

“Oh, come on.” Tony hated being interrupted mid-project with a passion. “Scale 1-10 how important is it?”

“According to Agent Romanoff it is at a 17.”

“Fine”, he groaned, put the wrench down and trudged upstairs. It couldn't be an imminent mission, JARVIS hadn't sounded any alarms, so there was probably no need to worry.

Or maybe there was, at least judging how all the Avengers stood around the table, eyeing him sternly.

“Where's the fire?”

“For weeks, you and Rogers have been at each other's throats”, Clint began, and Tony was already done.

“Right then.” Tony turned on his heel and walked back towards the door. The locked door. “What the fuck, J? Unlock the door!”

“I am not authorized to do that.”

“Excuse me?” Tony stared at the camera. “You are my AI. My command trumps every other command you're given.”

“Not if I deem it crucial.”

“Traitor!”, he hissed before turning back to the Avengers. “Taking over my AI comes with dire consequen...”

“Shut it, Stark”, Nat interrupted and motioned for him to sit back down next to Cap.

His hands raised in mock-defense, he complied.

“And now listen, both of you. Your bickering is making everybody miserable.”

“Amen to that”, Wanda threw in.

“We're not that bad”, Steve stated, and Tony nodded along.

“JARVIS?”

“In the last 4 weeks alone have been 256 incidents. This number accounts only for altercations within proximity to the tower and all tech linked to my server.”

Granted, Tony got how that might be annoying. However... “That is so not on me.”

“Excuse me?” Steve turned to Tony, pure offence written all over his features. “Clearly the team cannot excuse your behaviour or they...”

“It's on you both”, Natasha made clear. “And everybody suffers for it. So you left us with no choice: you're being sentenced to couples therapy.”

“No.” Both Tony and Steve stared at her with wide eyes, their jaws on the ground.

“You can't be serious”, Tony protested once he caught himself again. “We do not need therapy!”

“Tony's right”, Steve nodded.

“See?” Tony gestured between himself and Rogers. “We're agreeing on something! There's absolutely no need for any type of counselling.”

“Your opinion doesn't matter”, Banner made clear.

“Yes, it does! I run this damn team.”

“And I finance this damn team”, Tony finished Steve's reasoning.

“As your doctors, me and Helen already signed off on it. And so has Fury. You're going and that's it.”

Fuck. Tony slumped back in his chair. Therapy. With Rogers.

“Everything is handled with utmost discretion”, Vision explained. “The SHIELD-approved psychologist has already signed a NDA and should arrive at the tower as we speak.”

“THE FUCK?”, Tony yelled out, “our appointment is NOW?”

“So neither of you can weasel out of it”, Rhodey shrugged.

That was the worst part about all this: his honey-bear being part of all this. It felt even worse than JARVIS being part of this conspiracy.

“Fine”, Steve just groaned, “Let's get this over with.” With that he got up, looking at Tony all expectantly until he too, followed suit.

“Conference Room C”, Nat fake-smiled and waved them away.

Tony was in no hurry to get there any time soon and inspected the spectacularly unspectacular white walls of the hallway.

“Come on!”, Steve complained.

“Why?”

“Because we shouldn't let the doctor wait!”

“I couldn't give less of a fuck about that doc or your annoying need to be perfectly on time.”

With an eye roll, Steve just turned and strutted off towards the conference room. Fine with Tony; he could very well do without the nagging.

He was gonna get them back; Nat, Rhodey, Clint, all of them. And if it was the last thing he'd ever do; Tony was gonna get his revenge.

Mark was nervous, immensely so. He was about to start counselling Captain America and Ironman! How in the name of everything that was good and holy in the world was this real life?

It was incredibly bizarre; as a kid he had collected the Captain America baseball cards and just two weeks ago he gifted his son the newest Ironman action figure; his daughter never went to sleep is she didn't have the Avengers-blankie.

But there wasn't time for more than two deep breaths, the door opened and in walked Captain America. Keep it together!

“Hello, Mr Rogers, the name is Mark Simmons; it's a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise”, he smiled and shook the outstretched hand. “Please excuse my partner's tardiness; it's his form of protest.”

“Don't pretend like you want to be here”, Stark scoffed as he walked through the door, before he turned to Mark. “Good day, doctor. Just so you know, up until ten minutes ago, neither of us knew about this...” - he waved his hands around, gesturing between the three men - “arrangement. And to be perfectly honest, neither of us really fancies the idea of therapy.”

“Your honesty is appreciated”, Mark smiled. “Since I'm already here though...” He motioned for the two to sit down and, less willingly than anything else, they complied.

“Well, since neither of you know what to expect from me or our meetings, let me explain what it is I do. My name is Mark Simmons and I specialize in business psychology; you could say couple's therapy for a co-workers. What I'm here to do, is to get the communication going.”

“Oh there is no issue there”, Tony rolled his eyes. “This one's more than vocal about what I apparently keep on doing wrong.”

“Not apparently”, Steve hissed.

“It doesn't seem to bother the others.”

Oh dear. Not even five minutes in and Mark already feared the worst; this would be a tough one.

“I understand that your situation is a difficult one”, he commented, when he finally got a word in, “since you not only work but also live together. But that's why it is important for us to get to the bottom of it all, of where all this tension stems from.”

“We don't like each other”, Stark shrugged”, what more is there to it?”

“More than you'd think. I do need to say right away that this will only work if you are honest with me and each other. In return I assure you that I will be transparent about any and all methods and intentions.”

“That does sound reasonable”, Rogers nodded. Still, even though he seemed to be more open to the whole idea than Stark, the Captain was just as apprehensive; he just tried to hide it.

“No promises”, Stark made clear and Mark could only smile.

“Thank you for your honesty, Mr Stark.”

“Tony.”

“Right then. If you'd be willing I would like to hear some of the typical arguments you have, so I can get a better picture of the situation.”

“Ask JARVIS, he keeps a log”, Tony snorted.

“It is not my job to counsel JARVIS” - whoever that was - “you two are my clients, so it's from you I'd like to hear it.”

“He's just got one to many sticks up his ass”, Tony shrugged and toyed around with a screwdriver he got out his jeans pocket.

“No, he's just a sloppy and spoiled prat, who never learned how to share and live with others.”

“I am not sloppy! I mean sure, I can get sloppy in bed...” He left the rest unsaid, and a smug grin played over his lips.

“You see”, Steve groaned, “everything is a joke to him! I – honest to God – can't remember if I've ever had a serious conversation with you.”

“Well, maybe I don't want to have a serious conversation with you”, Stark shot back.

“Well, doctor”, Steve forced a smile, “I guess there you have it.”

Wow. This was gonna be just great.

“Hey Tones.” Rhodey, that traitor, walked into the lab and shot Tony the smuggest grin. “How was your first session with Dr Simmons?”

“You're an asshole”, Tony grumbled and turned his attention back to the motor he was repairing.

“Thanks dear, I love you, too.”

“Seriously, what the fuck were you thinking?” Tony must have looked sufficiently pissed off, since the smugness in Rhodey's look changed to something sombre.

“Me and the rest of the team were thinking that whatever is going on between you and Rogers can't continue like this. It's breaking the team and it's breaking the two of you as well. So you're gonna deal with it.”

“And what if I don't?”

“Then we're gonna lock you two in a room with Hulk.”

“Proactive choice. Just gotta warn you: this is gonna end in disaster.”

“Can't be worse than it is now.”

“So why don't you just throw the empty milk carton out?”

It's been thirty minutes and the two Avengers were still fighting over the damn milk. But, instead of giving Mark the chance to dig a little deeper and guide the conversation towards what really upset them, they kept on talking over him. If their last four sessions were anything to go by, they probably forgot Mark was there.

“I have more important things going on in my head to check if I finished the milk or whatever.”

“Right because it's too much to ask for you to take these three seconds to check that.”

“Yeah, but guess what, Rogers: I don't owe you shit.”

Ah, finally, they got to a bigger issue. For a few moments they just stared at each other, Tony's defiance head-on meeting Steve's confusion.

It was the super soldier that broke the silence. “That has nothing to do with me wanting you to do this for me. It's just the proper basis for a bunch of people living together.”

“And why am I the only one that gets your speeches? Clint drinks the juice right out of the container, Vision has zero instinct about privacy and walks right through walls, Thor eats everybody's pop tarts and I don't think I can recall a single time that Wanda cleaned the microwave. So please, Captain, what is it about me that is so unbearable or well, more so than the others?”

“Because you do it on purpose!”, Steve cried out. “All that bullshit didn't start until about two or three months ago. So what the hell changed that you felt the need to be such a pain?”

“Because I can't allow myself to like you.” Tony all but spat the words in Steve's face, got up and turned to Mark. “Thanks, doc. For everything.” Not sure whether it was meant sarcastically or not, Mark just stared after Ironman as he walked out.

“Well”, he eventually cleared his throat. “I guess we can stop talking about milk, leftovers and swearing.”

“Yeah...” Until now, Steve had stared at the closed door, only now he turned to Mark. “Let's just hope he shows up next time...”

He didn't.

But Steve hadn't really expected anything else. All week, Tony had kept away from Steve, not once did they run into each other.

After Tony missed another appointment, Steve got worried. Fine, he had been worried ever since Tony had told him that he couldn't like him, but now he allowed the worry to come through.

“Bruce?” The scientist was – as he had been for the last few days – by himself in the lab.

“Steve, hey”, Bruce smiled and waved for Steve to come inside. “What's going on?”

“Have you seen Tony these last few days?”

“Of course not”, Bruce chuckled, “he's in his house in Malibu.”

“Wait, what?” Steve couldn't help his face from dropping.

“Yeah, he said something about some issues with the LA branch of SI.”

“Oh. Right then. Thanks.” With an awkward wave, Steve turned and walked out, as Bruce's concerned looked burned into the back of his head.

Right, SI LA needed its boss every now and again; it made plenty of sense for Tony having to go there somewhat spontaneously.

Something in Steve's gut felt so very off about it though. Disappearing from one moment to the next, not even cancelling their sessions with Dr Simmons... Something was not right and Steve felt somewhat responsible.

Unfortunately, very impulsively so; as much as he hated flying, Steve found himself in the next machine to California.

All through the flight, he had thought about what he wanted to say, but now that a cleaning lady, Miriam, led him through the villa, his head was pretty empty.

In a wide light-filled room, Tony sat on the floor, screwing around with something that looked like it had once been part of an Ironmansuit.

“Tony.”

“Rogers, what the fuck do you want?” Stark didn't even look up.

“I want to check on you.”

“Could've just called.”

“Would you have picked up?”

“Probably not”, he admitted, still not gracing Steve with as much as a fleeting glance. “Thanks for flying out though and have a safe journey back to New York.”

“Tony, I'm not leaving until you talk to me.”

“What do you want me to say?”, Stark groaned, threw the wrench on the ground and glared at Steve. “Seriously, what do you need to hear to fuck off?”

“The truth.”

“How original.” With a roll of his eyes, Tony got up and wiped the oil off his hands. Steve doubted it was of use, the rag that had probably once been white was almost black by now.

“Tony, please.”

“Why?” He strutted right up to Steve but he wasn't about to let himself be intimidated. “Why do you care?”

“I care about you and our team. And I thought we have gotten close, I do consider you a friend. And that's why I care about you.”

After staring at Steve for a few moments, Tony dropped his head. “Fuck”, he mumbled. “Right here goes. I'm sorry for screwing with you these last weeks. It was all my fault and I'll be good from now on and we no longer need to deal with the shrink. Deal?”

“No”, Steve made clear. “I flew to LA so we can work on what has the entire team upset and isn't good for the two of us either. So tell me, what I can do to make you more comfortable around me, and I'll gladly do it.” He took two careful steps towards Tony. “Please.”

“I appreciate that, but there's nothing you can do.”

“You said you can't allow yourself to like me.”

When Tony stayed silent, Steve continued: “Is it because of Howard?” It had to be, Tony's Dad was the only thing that connected them profoundly enough for Tony to hate Steve.

“What do you think?”, Tony scoffed. “The great and amazing Captain America, Howard's greatest ever creation, I just never could measure up to.”

“Tony, I'm so sorry...”

“Can it”, Tony interrupted him, “because it's not your fault. You were dead then, it had nothing to do with you and everything with Howard being the worst.”

Wow.

“But you don't want to end up like your Dad, so you forbade yourself to like me”, Steve finished the explanation and interpreted Tony's shrug as affirmation of his assumption. “So why be a pain in my ass then?” This part, Steve didn't really get: Tony could just stay away from Steve, the Tower gave more than enough opportunities for that.

“Just because”, Tony mumbled, as he actually blushed. What the hell? As hard as he tried, Steve couldn't remember Tony Stark ever being flushed.

“That's not an answer.” Steve was aware that he was entering dangerous territory; a cornered Tony was even more dangerous than he normally was. But what was the alternative? Him and Tony just avoiding each other, pushing it all way down until it all blew up in their faces?

“Rogers, please...” Tony's voice went softer, almost a whisper, the exact opposite of how Steve had expected Tony to react.

“Tony, you're seriously worrying me.” Steve took another step towards Tony, who looked like he just wanted to bolt. “Please, what's bothering you?”

“You are, damnit!”, Tony yelled out. “The fact that you're nothing like the damn asshole I pictured you to be throughout my childhood. The fact that you're actually a pretty great guy. The fact that I like you, no, that I like you too damn much.”

Steve couldn't follow. The part about Tony's childhood and Howard, he got. But the almost desperate look in Tony's eyes... “I get that all that, with me, Howard was, or still is...” At Tony's exasperated face drop Steve halted mid-sentence. Was he missing something? Judging by the way Tony looked at him, he probably did.

“You really don't get it, Rogers, do you?”

His meek shrug was only met with a Stark-typical eye-roll.

And then everything seemed to happen at once. With two big steps, Tony closed the last bit of distance between them, grabbed Steve by the shirt collar, pulled him down and pressed their lips together.

And Steve's mind just went blank. Of all the things he'd expect Tony to do... This was not one of them. Frozen in shock, Steve could do nothing but let Stark kiss him.

“Here you go”, Tony shrugged, once he broke away and took two steps back. “Now if you'd please fuck off, I'd be very grateful.” With that he turned and motioned to walk off.

“Tony, wait.” Steve heard himself speak, before he realized he had done it. But it was all so very much in a haze, and Steve wouldn't bet a lot on this being real life and not just a dream, so before he knew it really happened, he grabbed Tony's arm, pulled him back and immediately their lips met again.

After a few shocked moments, Tony's arms wrapped themselves around Steve's shoulders.

Steve had no idea what was really happening, but he didn't care, because it felt amazing. It was electrified, passionate and all the little things that irked them about each other seemed to vanish, making room for desire to run wild.

“Rogers”, Tony mumbled after a while, “what is...”

“Shut up”, Steve shot back, not in the mood for talking.

“Works for me”, Stark chuckled, and, with his hand on Steve's neck, he pulled him down and deepened the kiss even more.

Was this a good idea? Probably not. Did Steve care? Fuck, no.

When Steve woke up the next morning, he wasn't quite sure where he was. He definitely didn't know this enormous bed, and these silky bed sheets were not to his taste.

Oh. Right. He was in LA. In Tony's bed. And very naked.

Shit.

What was more, he was alone in Tony's oversized bed. There was no genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, but a note.

Steve,

sorry, had to dash. Help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen, if you want.

I'll see you in New York.

Shit. With a loud groan, Steve fell back into the cushions. What did he think? He didn't, that was just it. Or he thought with the wrong body part. Sure, it felt good, very much so. Kissing someone hadn't felt that good ever since he kissed Peggy. And then... Passion just took over.

That was admittedly the weird part, Steve wasn't someone who just let himself run over with desire and just jumped right into bed with whoever kissed him. Well, he and Tony had a lot of pent up tension between them and now they just had the need to get it all out.

I'll see you in New York.

Well, maybe things would be a little more relaxed between them from now on. But Steve doubted that.

“Omigod”, Nat sighed, “I can't believe I'm saying this but I liked it so much better when they were fighting.”

“Tell me about it.” Clint fell down next to her on the couch. “The way Cap just silently stares at Stark is seriously creepy and so awkward.”

“And Stark barely ever talks any more when Steve is in the room and flees as soon as he's got the chance”, Wanda observed.

“If it weren't those two, I'd say they're boning”, Clint giggled, until he stopped dead. “Omigod. Do you think that Steve and Tony...”

The assembled Avengers just looked at each other with wide eyes.

“It would explain so much”, Nat eventually broke the silence.

“All that bickering and fighting is just unresolved sexual tension”, Bruce commented.

“We gotta fix them!”

“Right”, Nat scoffed, “because they both would react so positively to us walking up to them and telling them to bone.”

“Maybe we should stick them back in therapy.”

“Because that went over so well the last time.”

“What then?” Rhodey looked around the group. “There's gotta be something we can do!”

“We'll leave that to you”, Nat suggested, “you're the only one who can get through to Tony.”

With a ping the elevator doors opened and Rhodey walked into the penthouse, already dreading in what state he was about to find his friend. “Tones? You in here?”

“Platypus!”, Tony beamed and staggered towards him with wide open arms. Shit. He was really hammered.

“Here”, he handed Rhodey a bottle, clearly not realizing that it was already empty. “Drink with me!”

“How about we switch to water?”, he suggested and took the still half-full bottle of whiskey out of Tony's hand.

“You're so boring”, Tony moped and walked over to the kitchen cabinet, where he got another bottle. “So boring”, he repeated after a generous sip. “Just like Steve. He's so stupid and boring.”

“Yeah, I know.” Gently, Rhodey guided Tony to a couch and all but pushed him down. “I'm not worried about Rogers, though.”

“You should...”

“Nah, I'm only responsible to look after you.”

“I'm fine”, Tony claimed, however swaying and slurring a lot more than fine would suggest.

“I know you are. That's why you ran off to LA, avoid Steve since you're back, lock yourself in up here and drink that much again.”

“I'm really fine”, Tony repeated. “Look!” He T-posed and shot him a kissy-face. “I'm so good.”

“Right, then you won't mind talking to Steve, would you?”

“But I don't want to.” Not unlike a child throwing a hissy fit, Tony crossed his arms in front of his chest; all that was missing was Tony sticking his tongue out at Rhodey.

Well, if Tony was gonna act like a four-year-old, then Rhodey'd pack out his parental voice. “And why don't you want to talk to him?”

Thankfully, he was too drunk to pick up on James' condescending tone. “Because he's stupid.”

“And why is he stupid?”

“Because he is.”

“Tony.” This was gonna be a tough one.

“Rhodey”, he mocked him.

“Well, if you're fine, then I can go.” He got up off the couch and, as he had expected, he couldn't get two steps until Tony stopped him.

“Don't go”, he mumbled, grabbed his arm and pulled him back on the couch.

“Alright, I'll stay”, James smiled. “You gonna tell me what has you upset though?”

Tony clutched a pillow and looked down on the floor. “We... we had sex.”

“You did what?” Oh damn. They were right, the Avengers were damn right about them.

“He... He just didn't get it, so I showed him. And then he kissed me back. And then...” Instead of finishing his sentence, Tony took another sip from his bottle.

Well, damn.

“Sounds to me like you and Steve have quite a bit to talk about...”

“Talking fucking sucks”, Tony groaned and slumped against Rhodey's side.

“It helps though”, he shrugged and put his arm around Tony's shoulder.

“Still sucks”, he mumbled and snuggled into the embrace.

Rhodey had lived through enough of Tony's drinking sessions to know that a) Tony was about to fall asleep, that b) Rhodey would not be able to move until he woke up again, that c) the chances of getting thrown up on were at least in the high seventies and that d) this disaster human being was his absolute favourite person in the entire world.

“I love you, Tones.”

“I love you too, Honey-bear.”

5 days. 5 days since Steve had flown to LA to confront Tony about their 'situation'. 5 days, since Tony had grabbed his shirt and kissed him. 5 days, since Steve kissed him back. 5 days, since Steve had just about the best night ever. 5 days, in which Steve couldn't think about anything else than the surprisingly soft lips, the taste of coffee, the strong hands on his body and most of all, how good being with Tony had felt.

And with all that came a realization: that flutter in his stomach that came every time Steve was around Tony was not dread, awkwardness or anything like that, it were the butterflies in his stomach going into overdrive.

When Steve finally gathered enough courage to talk to Tony, he ended up standing in front of a locked door.

“I'm sorry, boss has restricted access to anyone.”

“JARVIS, please.” In the worry about his friend, Steve didn't give too much thought to him currently trying to reason with a bodiless robot. “You can't tell me that he's doing alright. Let me please talk to him.”

“Since he is not in imminent physical danger, I am not authorized to ignore boss' orders.”

“Is he drinking?”

“Yes.”

“With his history, it's more than dangerous for him to be locked up all by himself with these amounts of alcohol, don't you agree?”

“I do”, he admitted and the door opened for him.

“Thanks, JARVIS, you're the best.”

“Tony?”

Damnit. JARVIS was really keen on disobeying all of Tony's orders, was he? “One of these days”, he groaned towards the general direction of the camera, “I'll donate you to a high school.”

“I believe my fosterlings there would be less determined to kill themselves and be more grateful for my unwavering support.”

“You sure as fuck aren't supporting me”, Tony hissed, as Steve walked all through the penthouse in search of him. If Tony was lucky, Rogers would respect the sanctity of the bedroom, where Tony had created a make-shift workstation on and around the bed.

“I have your best interests at heart, even if you might not realize it.”

For fuck's sake.

“Tony?”, Steve called again, closing in on Tony's location.

“He is in the bedroom”, JARVIS announced and boy, if looks could kill, Tony would have to install new security cameras.

“Can I come in?”

“Whatever”, Tony grumbled and the door opened to the sight of a nervous Steve.

“Hi.”

“Rogers, I don't know what went wrong with you that you can't seem to get I don't want to see you.” Tony didn't even bother with looking up at Steve and hoped to whoever was in charge of hurried prayers that the super soldier would see it as nonchalant and not recognize the pained insecurity. Which, by the way, fucking sucked.

All of this, of what happened these last few weeks, months, fucking sucked.

It started to suck, when Tony got to know Steve for who he really was: not the absolute pinnacle of American perfection who Tony would never be able to measure up to, but instead.... Sure, Steve was all that, but so much more.

As much as Tony pretended to be exasperated and annoyed by his in all honesty at times pathetic tries to catch up to modern technology, his determination was really commendable and quite adorable. Same with his annoying righteousness; knowing about Steve what Tony knew now, he could recognize and appreciate how passionate Rogers was about the things most important to him. And that undying loyalty... But not – as Tony had thought – to the US army, the government and blindly following orders, but to the people closest to him. Even to Tony. Who had been quite the dick. But even though he didn't understand a word of it, Rogers often listened to Tony's engineering rants. And listening to Steve going on and on about injustice or whatever, Tony just got roped in by that seemingly boundless passion.

And with all that wrapped up in *that* package... Yeah, Tony really had fallen for Steve. And he hated himself for it.

Why of all people did it have to be Captain America that made Tony's heart skip a fucking beat? And why in the name of Edwin Jarvis did Tony 'confess'? Why couldn't he have just stuck to the fucking plan, ride these damn feelings out and be enough of a pain so Steve would hate him?

But no, Mr Impulsivity just couldn't leave well enough alone and keep it in his damn pants, could he?

“I'm sorry, Tony”, Steve eventually apologized.

“For what?” For being a giant idiot, who didn't get what was going on? For pushing what should have been left alone and thusly making everything a million times worse?

“Yes, to all of those.”

Tony didn't even realize he had said all this out loud, but whatever. Not like all this could be even more fucked up...

“But there's a bit more I need to apologize for.” Almost cautious was Steve's movement as he walked up to Tony, who sat on the bed. “I'm sorry that I'm so slow and dumb when it comes to feelings. I'm sorry I brushed all of your actions off as you being nothing more than a childish pain in my ass and some other choice words I feel like leaving out of this right now”, he chuckled and yes, that was indeed a blush creeping up Steve's face. “Because I know you're not like that.”

“Oh?”, Tony shot over, rife with sarcasm. “Then what am I like?”

Steve locked eyes with Tony, sincere and earnest. “You're so generous, intelligent, caring, admittedly quite funny and supportive of everybody important to you. I know you like to play all that down, hide behind the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist tag, but that's all it is. A tag. But that passion, that fire... You light up every room you enter and that's not because of your genius-billionaire-bullshit, it's because of your big heart.”

Huh.

As much as he hated to admit it, Tony was speechless and could only stare at Steve with wide open eyes.

“And I'm especially sorry that it took me so damn long to realize that all that has roped me in long ago.” Steve scooted closer, bringing them mere centimetres apart. “It took LA to make me understand that this weird feeling in my stomach whenever you're around, had nothing to do with dislike or annoyance. More like the exact opposite.” As he spoke, Steve's voice went quieter as he leaned in closer, and before Tony could compute any of this, Steve's lips were on his.

“What the fuck?”

When Nat opened the door to the kitchen, she couldn't quite believe what she saw: Tony, making coffee and Steve's arms wrapped around his waist, with his head rested on Tony's shoulder.

“Hi Natasha, want a cup?”, Tony asked, barely looking over.

“I'm good”, she waved him off and pulled Clint, whose jaw was still on the ground, to the table. “Let me guess, therapy did you two a world of good.”

“We might not be that pissed about it any more.” Tony turned around, and leaned against the somewhat blushing Steve.

“Thanks for forcing us to go”, he grinned.

“We told you.”

“Yeah... Guess that wouldn't make you the smartest person in this building after all...” Steve grinned over at Tony, who smacked Steve's side.

“It's definitely not you, I could have told you that long ago”, he shot back with a smirk.

“Oh really?” Steve raised his eyebrow and Nat felt like she was about to get sick.

“Oh god, what have we done”, Clint hissed over, staring wide-eyed at Tony and Steve. Flirting. Actually flirting.

“We've created a monster, that's what we did.”

#tony stark #ironman #steve rogers #captain america #rhodey #james rhodes #war machine #iron patriot #bruce banner #hulk #natasha romanoff black widow #clint barton hawkeye #wanda maximoff #scarlett witch #stony

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xxx-cat-xxx · 5 years

Text

Stairway to Heaven (almost)

Summary: When the Hulk breaks the elevators in Stark Tower, Peter and Tony have to climb to the top in order to repair them. 93 floors shouldn’t be an issue, Tony tells himself, and, in typical Stark-fashion, completely ignores his heart condition. Turns out that was a bad idea.

Tags: Heart issues, Fainting, Whump and humour and a tiny little bit of angst, Irondad, Pepper/Tony, Bruce&Tony

A/N: For @greeniebean2014, thank you for the prompt and for medical consultancy services ;) Major thanks to @whumphoarder for beta reading.

________________________

“What exactly is the Hulk’s problem with elevators?” Peter inquires when they cross the 19th floor of Stark Tower and start climbing another flight.

The boy is jumpy and impatient, but his breaths are even and, as far as Tony can see in the dim emergency light, there’s not even a hint of exhaustion on his face,. The engineer, on the other hand, is already starting to pant, his cheeks feeling flushed as he tries his best to keep pace with the kid.

“He’s just not a fan,” Tony huffs. “No idea why.”

That’s not true, strictly speaking, because Tony knows very well that it all started with a certain event in 2012, but thinking about that would mean thinking about what happened to New York on this particular day, and that - no, not now.

Tony’s always bragged that out of all the things he’s built, Stark tower is one of the coolest. Located in downtown Manhattan, with a fully wired artificial intelligence that’s adaptive to its inhabitants’ respective needs, containing a vertical garden, thirteen gyms, seven swimming pools, and labs that would make the AAAS go green with envy, it is certainly something to be proud of. Not to mention that it is the first of New York’s skyscrapers that’s exclusively running on green energy.

The tower is also very, very high. Not, as some journalists suggested gleefully, because it has to compensate for anything, but because Tony wouldn’t build a skyscraper with his name on it that wasn’t visible from the ocean. And why go for 50 floors when you can have 93? He wanted to see where to land when he comes back from business trips with his private jet, or, more recently, feel more than a bit smug when returning from a mission in his Iron Man suit and spotting the Avengers symbol shining high above New York.

Today is the first day he curses himself for each and every one of those 93 floors.

“At least he could have left the power supply alone,” Peter goes on. “I mean, Hulk is pretty dumb - don’t tell Dr. Banner I said that - but somehow he managed to destroy the entire system.”

“Yup,” Tony replies short-windedly.

Peter gives him a side glance. “Do you need a break?”

“Do I look like a pensioner to you?” Tony retorts in mock-offence. “I once crossed half of Tennessee in a snowstorm while dragging my own armour behind me. This little workout is nothing compared to that.”

“Okay, okay, I was just asking,” Peter appeases. “By the way, did I tell you about the new web-fluid formula that Ned came up with?”

The kid starts to ramble while they make their way towards Tony’s workshop on the 79th floor, where, in a moment of maybe not-so-genius, he has installed the controls they will need in order to get the arc reactor in the basement back online. The tower is protected against pretty much every imaginable outside threat (and even against most of the inside ones) but Bruce, of course, has access to almost every part of the building and Tony never thought that Hulk would be clever enough to disable all the security measures protecting the main power supply.

By the time they reach the 26th floor, Tony has started to pant for real, unable to conceal his breathlessness any further. When they cross 32, his chest starts to hurt with every step, and he thinks that maybe a break wouldn’t be that bad after all. But the kid next to him is still taking the steps two at a time, not even a bead of sweat on his brow. So Tony grits his teeth and tells himself that this means he can skip his exercise routine for the next couple of days.

At 35, Tony’s head is swimming and his fingers begin to go numb. There’s an irritating tingling sensation in his left arm and that’s when he knows that things are Not Great™. He makes it another two floors before the pain in his chest spikes and his vision blacks out completely for a moment before turning into a blur of colours. Tony’s foot catches on the next step. He stumbles and would have fallen if it hadn’t been for Peter’s quick reflexes.

“Whoa, Mr. Stark, are you okay?” the kid asks in panic while he lowers Tony down onto the floor.

Tony grunts and tries to get back up, just to realise that he can’t really differentiate up and down anymore. His own heartbeat is pounding loudly in his ears, pulsating in time with the stabbing pain in his chest and the pattern of black and grey in front of his eyes.

“Mr. Stark, what’s going on?” Peter’s voice is openly worried, his hand still holding tightly onto Tony’s arm.

“‘m okay,” Tony manages. “Jus’ give me a sec. Gotta take a breather.” He feels himself list to the side and is glad when his shoulder finds a wall he can lean against. Tony lowers his head onto his knees, fully aware of how stupid he must be looking, and waits for the symptoms to subside.

They don’t. Instead, his vision goes from fuzzy to spinning, the pain from bad to worse, and he is suddenly very nauseous. Tony swallows hard, determined to preserve his last bit of dignity and not throw up in front of the kid.

“Mr. Stark?” The kid addresses the ceiling when Tony doesn’t reply. “FRIDAY, what’s going on with him?” The AI doesn’t answer, of course, because the power is still out, which Tony could have told him if he had any intention of opening his mouth. He feels bile rise in his throat and gulps.

“Do you feel sick? Are you gonna puke?”

Tony manages a shrug. “Dunno,” he grunts out through gritted teeth.

He feels more likely to faint on the spot, but he isn’t going to tell this to the kid. Peter is saying something else and Tony thinks he can make out Pepper’s name, but the kid suddenly seems very far away. Everything has gone sort of slow and muffled. There’s another stab of agony in Tony’s chest, and he can’t suppress a groan. He’s used to pain, been in a lot of it, but this is definitely somewhere in the upper end of his tolerance scale.

Tony closes his eyes and tries not to stop breathing.

“Tony? Can you hear me?” He opens his eyes again and makes out a very blurry Pepper, her red hair shimmering like a halo behind her face.

“‘m okay,” he gasps, “’s just s-stupid heart -” He reaches for the staircase railing, determined to get back to his feet and pull himself together and -

That was a mistake. The pain in his chest spikes. Tony can feel his body fold into itself - can hear Peter and Pepper yelp in unison.

Then he passes out.

He wakes up to the steady beeping of a heart monitor and an entirely different kind of pain in his chest. Tony blinks himself awake and waits for his vision to clear while the faces of Pepper, Bruce, and Peter slowly swim into focus.

They are in the medbay. Bruce is wearing a mismatch of clothes and a worried look on his face, Peter has streaks of tears on his cheeks, and Pepper looks to be somewhere in between relieved and very, very angry.

“Hey, I’m back online,” Tony announces to no one in particular, then has to interrupt himself to cough against the dryness in his throat.

“How are you feeling?” Bruce hands him a glass of water, luckily with a straw in it because Tony doesn’t feel quite up to sitting just yet.

“Good, good. Guess I’m okay now,” he lies. “Why the long faces? You all look like Happy when he found out Downton Abbey wasn't getting another season.”

“That’s not funny,” Peter replies with a seriousness unusual for him.

“It is, actually,” Tony retorts. “For weeks I’ve been trying to get Pepper to take an evening off and have dinner with us, and turns out all it took to get you three into one room is - what is it that’s wrong with me? Feels like the Hulk danced on my chest.”

Bruce turns pale at the words and swallows hard before speaking. “You were in ventricular tachycardia, which means that your heart was beating in such a way that it wasn’t getting your blood to the rest of the body. We had to shock you back into sinus rhythm. Pepper performed CPR before we got you to the medbay. She, uhm, might have broken one or two of your ribs.”

Tony mimics a shocked expression. “Wow, Pep, I get that you’re pissed at me, but no need to get violent…” he trails off upon seeing Pepper’s stony face.

Bruce gives him a serious look. “Sorry to tell you, Tony, but it looks like you’re gonna need to get a pacemaker. As soon as possible, I think.”

Tony replies nothing.

“Tony?” he repeats.

“Yeah, I know,” Tony finally says without looking up.

“Wait, you know?!” Pepper’s voice is so shrill that he winces.

“I had an episode a couple of weeks ago and contacted a specialist,” Tony admits, weakly raising his hand to stop her from interrupting. “I’ve got a check-up appointment scheduled on Friday, and if everything goes well, I’d get the pacemaker before the end of the month. Nobody would’ve even realised. Just, maybe, shouldn’t have climbed forty stairs. Stupid elevator.”

There’s a break. Peter looks shell-shocked. Bruce is chewing his lower lip. Pepper Potts is actually speechless for once.

“I am so sorry,” Bruce starts, his cheeks going red. “I didn’t think I’d ever have an incident in the tower, I am really -”

“Bruce, stop,” Tony orders with as much strength as he can muster. “We talked about this. It’s not your fault that the Hulk has a personal grudge against elevators.”

“But if you knew that something’s wrong with your heart, then why did you even think of climbing 80 floors?” Peter speaks up. “I could have gone upstairs on my own!”

“See, advanced planning when it comes to my own health isn’t really...what I do,” Tony admits with a weak grin. “Sorry for scaring you, though. You shouldn’t have been there.”

“Oh, it’s actually a good thing that he was there,” Pepper replies with a sardonic smile on her face that makes Tony suspect something evil. “I couldn’t have carried you all the way to medbay.”

“You did what?” Tony glares at Peter. “Please tell me she’s joking.”

“Uhm…” The kid’s face takes on an even darker shade of red. “There wasn’t really anything else we could’ve done, I mean, with the electricity out and all that…”

“Oh god,” Tony buries his head in the pillow, “I think I’ll just pass out again. For the rest of the month, maybe. And then I’ll fire you, kid. After making you sign a confidentiality agreement.”

The kid looks actually intimidated for a second until Pepper gives Tony a stern look and says, “A thank you would be more appropriate here.”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks, kid.” Tony lifts his head up again to look at Peter. “I mean it. FRIDAY, for the record, interns with super strength are very useful. Should be added as a criterion for the application form on the SI website.”

Peter tries to hide a chuckle. “I’m glad I was there, Mr. Stark. But really, you should take better care of yourself.”

Tony, mature as ever, sticks out his tongue at him.

There is a moment of silence in which Pepper gives a confused Bruce a very pointed look, until he suddenly says, “Oh, Peter, what about a hot chocolate? You look like you could use one. And then you can give me a hand fixing the power supply…”

Peter is a bit quicker on the uptake. “Okay, Dr. Banner.” He almost trips over his feet while walking backwards out of the door. “See you later, Mr. Stark. And don’t try to get up yet.”

Bruce pushes himself to his feet with visible exhaustion and gives them a tired wave before disappearing out of the room.

“See,” Tony spills the moment the door has closed behind the two of them, “I would have told you, I swear. I’ve been seeing this specialist about developing a custom pacemaker, but we’re not yet sure whether it is gonna be effective with all the scar tissue in my chest and I didn’t want to get your hopes up before I was 100 percent sure it would work.”

He makes his eyes as big as possible before looking up at Pepper. “Please don’t be mad?”

With a sigh, Pepper shifts her chair a little closer to the hospital bed. “I am mad,” she emphasises. “But I’m also glad that you didn’t die while climbing the stairs. And proud that you’re working on getting it fixed, though I’m not sure yet which of them is stronger.”

“Well, that’s…” Tony struggles to sit up a little against his lumpy hospital pillows and grunts when the pain in his ribs flares up, “that’s something I can work with.”

“How are you actually feeling?” Pepper asks. “And no lies this time.”

“It hurts,” Tony admits. “My chest. And, well, there’s the aftershock of almost dying.” The corners of his mouth twist into a smile. “But what else is new?”

Pepper’s expressions softens. She reaches for his hand on the blanket and takes it in both of hers, giving it a squeeze. Then she reaches up to his chest and lets her flat palm rest just above his traitorous heart.

Pepper doesn’t often talk about feelings, and if she does, she phrases them in a rational manner - so unlike Tony, who swings back and forth between stinging sarcasm and cheesy declarations of love. But he knows what she’s saying now, through the concern in her eyes, through the fingertips that outline the scars between the electrodes fixed to his bare chest.

I need you. I was so scared of losing you. Don’t be gone again.

Tony lays his hand on top of hers. “Thanks for saving me, Miss Potts,” he whispers.

She smiles in response. “That’s my day job, Mr. Stark.”

The lights suddenly flicker back on, replacing the green emergency glow with a cold white light. Tony blinks against the sudden brightness, feeling a headache throb against the back of his skull. He’s exhausted as if he’s been on a three-day mission. Although his original plan was to sneak out of the hospital bed and repair the elevator as soon as Pepper goes back to work, he now wonders whether a bit of rest might not be a bad idea. Not while he is alone, though.

“You gotta get back to SI?” he asks casually, wondering somewhere in the back of his mind whether there will be a day when he’ll simply be able to utter the word stay.

“Oh, seeing that the electricity went out, I postponed my meeting. I guess it’s okay to be absent a little longer and just answer a few emails from here,” she replies just as casually, nodding at the StarkPad poking out of her handbag.

The thing about Pepper is, sometimes she just gets him.

“Well then, be my guest,” he says with a smirk. “Make sure that Bruce and Peter get some rest after repairing my tower - poor guys have had a long day. And could you ask someone to check up on Dum-E and U…?”

“Sleep.” She silences him with a light kiss on the lips.

He takes her face in his hands with somewhat uncoordinated movements and kisses her back, hard, until he has to stop to take a breath. He feels very complete, slightly winded, and also a bit woozy. Pepper catches on to that and raises an eyebrow. “No sexual activity until you get your pacemaker, boss,” she teases.

A small smile spreads across Tony’s lips just as he can feel his eyelids start to grow heavy. "We'll see about that."

__________________________

@badthingshappenbingo This is my fill for the ‘Broken Ribs’ square.

All my fics

Taglist: @toomuchtoread33 @yepokokfine

#badthingshappenbingo #broken ribs #heart issues #fainting #cardiac dysrhythmia #hurt tony stark #sick tony #irondad #spiderson #pepperony #pepper/tony #science bros #bruce banner #pepper potts #tony stark #peter parker #mcu #marvel fanfic

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idkstark · 5 years

Text

ENDGAME SPOILERS

Please don’t read the following if you haven’t seen the movie, there will be major spoilers!

I just saw the movie and I just wanted to recap/jot down things that happened/stood out to me during the movie! Similar to what I did last year after seeing IW.

Right kiddos, let’s get into it

I honestly thought Tony was fuckign dead on that ship, the fact that Nebula was shaking him n shit?? I was scared outta my mind.

They really just ... killed Thanos within the first ten minutes lmao dfkhdsvgsjdhg. I was not expecting it at all. They cut his left arm off and then decapitated him, it was absolutely wild.

At least Thor aimed for the head

OH and Tony yelling at Steve when he’s back on earth? yo i was looking around at my friends like uh is he ok ?? he needs some milk

As soon as Thanos was like aha yea i destroyed the stones owo I KNEW they were gonna go back in time

Five year time jump? wack. BUT AHHHHHHHH

TONY HAS A DAUGHTER. i cried. Also his new house by the lake? its just to cute im happy for him

Scott’s daughter, Cassie, is a full-grown teen!!!

Thor plays fortnite with korg and miek

he also uhhhhh gained a bit of weight. he isnt doing too well in new Asgard :(

Professor Hulk! smthn that i wasn’t expecting so early on

AHH Carol’s new haircut? that’s some good shit

The time travel was pretty neat

Cap fighting himself, tricking hydra, using Loki’s staff on himself. wild y’all.

tony and steve going back to the 70′s honestly made me cry. peggy was right there in-front of steve, and tony was able to have a conversation with his dad. it was actually wholesome too??

anyway, they get three stones from 2012

nebula and rhodey go to get the power stone. 2014 peter quill is dancing along like he does in the movie, gets knocked out. its quite amusing.

rhodey jumps back but nebula cant bc uh oh!!!! thanos (from a different timeline or smthn) finds out what she’s doing!!

she gets captured

Evil nebula pretends to be future nebula and jumps back to the HQ using her gear

Thor goes back to asgard, talks to his mum, anddd he gets Mjolnir back! so he has both the hammer and Stormbreaker

the soul stone. omg. Nat and Clint were the only two there and they had a small fight over who should be sacrificed. it was like some lion king shit; natasha hanging onto clint whilst dangling from a cliff and letting go. i cried ?? i felt so bad for clint.

He goes back, avengers are like uh oh fuck. but they have all of the stones!

STARK GAUNTLET BABYYYY

banner uses it and snaps back those who were dusted. his arm gets a bit fucked up, but he tolerates it bc he’s in the form of the hulk.

it works! but then evil nebula uses the quantum realm thingy to bring Thanos’ ship to the HQ

immediately sends a bunch of missiles down, i really thought someone would die but thank god everyone was ok

this sets up the final battle ground!

Thor, Cap, and Tony all fight Thanos. They’re getting pretty fucked up. thor drops both of his weapons

dramatic music plays and Mjolnir hits Thanos and flies back around only to land in sTEVE’S HAND!!!!!!

HE’S WORTHY SAKDHSDKFS. The entire theatre cheered

just ???? seeing him wield Mjolnir and use the shield???? holy fuck

Thanos beats them up a bit more and then he calls on his army and like. they all form behind him and it looks like everyone is gonna get fucked up to be quite honest

BUT THEN you hear sam’s voice and u see dr stranges portal!!!

a bunch of portals form and everyone walks out; t’challa, shuri, okoye, their army. the guardians. PETER!! bucky, literally everyone. they all stand behind steve and he says ‘avengers....assemble’ and everyone starts running towards one-another.........poetic cinema

AHH and pepper is there!! she’s rescue!!!

the stark gauntlet is handed to t’challa (by clint) then handed to peter who hands it to carol.

also um. peter saw tony and he started rambling abt wht happened and tony just pulls him in for a hug. it made me cry again

all of the female heroes help carol bring the gauntlet towards Scott, who has his van, so tht they can destroy it or smthn. it had something to do with time travel and the quantum realm skfbsdg

uh oh they don’t get it there

Thanos sees them doing this and makes his army send more missiles down (which does deplete his own army by a large amount)

He’s right beside the gauntlet and so is tony

tony looks at strange who holds up one finger. the one in 14 million

thanos puts the gauntlet on and almost snaps his fingers but he’s stopped by carol.

he removes the power stone and uses it to blast her away, then he puts it back in.

tony grabs his arm before he can snap, thanos shoves him away

i fully thought that was it for the avengers BUT MY BOY TONY!!!!!

Thanos goes to snap but nothing happens. turns out tony somehow transferred them to his own, built-in/nano-tech gauntlet!!!!!!! everyone cheered again y’all.....

he says “I am Iron Man” before snapping his fingers

lmfao thanos and his army turn to dust. by bye purple man.

by this point i was like yall where the fuck is tony he better be ok

yea about that.

I started to sob.

Tony is leaning against some debris and he’s struggling to breathe, right arm all messed up. Everyone rushes over.

Peter starts saying smthn like “come on mr stark, we won. tony please” idk what he said exactly because i was sobbing.

Pepper comes up and says “we’ll be okay. you can rest now” and i, a fool, continued to sob.

he’s staring into the distance and his arc reactor dies.

i was SOBBIng

full on

i didn’t stop crying until the credits rolled

anyway, tony’s funeral.

his ‘proof that tony stark has a heart’ reactor is sitting on a bed of flowers that’s floating along the lake in front of his home

everyone is there. the guardians, black panther fam, avengers (minus nat), fury, etc etc.

even Harley from iron man three !! he’s so grown up now D:

Thor joins the guardians and leaves valkyrie to rule new asgard!!

Steve has to go back and return the stones to their rightful timelines but haha he stays there.

he grows old with peggy and they dance in their home. they were married yall!!!

Bucky, sam, and Bruce turn around and see him sitting on a bench a little while away.

same goes up and talks to him

i thought he was pre-serum steve but YIKES he’s old instead

he passes the captain america mantle to sam, i was so happy

there’s a lot i didnt mention but this is long enough as it is sdfgsdjhfg.

this movie just made me cry so much. it was the perfect end to this ten-year journey. i mean i would obviously love if they didnt kill off tony. he’s my favourite character so god damn was it hard to see him go. but it made it that much more emotional. marvel will always remain my favourite franchise of all time, this movie was absolutely everything i wanted yet so much more.

please dont be afraid to dm me about ur thoughts on the movie! cry abt everything with me!! ask questions!!

#avengers endgame #Avengers #avengers spoilers #endgame #endgame spoilers

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daftpunk-delorean · 5 years

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How about science boyfriends cuddles with some Bruce marveling at Tony's reactor, the blue glow between them? I need it after that beautiful angst curse 😭♥️♥️

I gotchu fam! I hope you’ve seen Endgame, because this has spoilers! This takes place in a pseudo-AU after Endgame where Bruce and Hulk are separate, and things end differently for Tony.

“Hey, I made some oatmeal,” Bruce murmured as he entered the bedroom, and Tony cracked his eyes open to see bright light streaming in the window and Bruce’s gentle smile. Tony groaned and shifted more upright in the bed with a wince.

“Did I really sleep that late?” he asked in a hoarse voice, and Bruce chuckled, sitting on the bed beside him.

“All things considered, I’m glad to see you making up for, oh, I don’t know… forty years of sleep?” Bruce said, reaching out to brush Tony’s hair out of his eyes. Tony leaned into the touch, and Bruce cupped his cheek.

“C’mere. The oatmeal can wait,” Tony said softly, pulling back the covers. Ever since the snap, his stomach still couldn’t handle much more than oatmeal and broth, and yet another meal of mush wasn’t all that appetizing. Bruce thankfully indulged Tony, crawling back into bed with him. “Careful…” Tony murmured, shifting so that Bruce nestled against his left side, not his right.

Bruce laced their fingers together, stroking the knuckles of Tony’s armored right hand.

“It’s gonna take me awhile to get used to this,” he said softly, and Tony pillowed his cheek against Bruce’s curls.

“Me too. It’s hard to imagine that I won’t be able to take it off. At least I can still feel your touch.” Tony brought Bruce’s hand to his lips and kissed his palm, and his armored hand was as warm as his skin. He would never have use of his right arm again, after the snap. He was lucky that between extremis and the nanotech, he could use the armor as a prosthetic arm on that side. The burns on his neck and face were still healing, he had lost hearing in his right ear, and the vision in his right eye was a little fuzzy and probably always would be.

But he’d lived.

And he could live with this, too.

When Tony lowered their hands, Bruce rested his on Tony’s arc reactor. It was protective, the way he covered the light, tracing the edges with his fingertips, his body pressed close.

“Something on your mind, Green, Bean?” Tony asked quietly. Bruce didn’t say anything, but shifted so that they were nearly chest to chest, the blue light glowing between them, illuminating their small world.

“I just can’t believe it’s over. We’re safe,” Bruce whispered, touching his forehead to Tony’s. “You saved us. You saved everything.”

Tony wrapped his arms around Bruce, nuzzling at him until he could catch Bruce’s lips in a tender kiss.

“We saved everything. All of us, together,” Tony amended, still averse to taking credit, despite the parades in his honor that he was still too weak to attend. Bruce just smiled against his lips.

“Tony. My darling. My Tin Man. Literally,” Bruce teased, squeezing Tony’s armored hand. “Don’t sweep this under the rug. Breathe into it. Let it be real. You-“ Bruce cut off, taking a breath. “You’re alive, I can’t… I can’t imagine if you’d…”

“Hey. None of that now,” Tony said, his usual quips about getting emotional not feeling quite right anymore. He smiled, tipping Bruce’s chin up, kissing him again, forever grateful that he would have the rest of his life to do so. “We’re retired now. A couple of old men, playing chess in the park every morning over coffee and cronuts. I’m gonna be all better soon, and then you’d better watch out. You’ll get tired of me. Might even call me clingy,” he said with a playful grin. Bruce scoffed.

“Impossible.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Nope.”

Tony laughed quietly, dissolving into another groan when it put pressure on his ribs. The nanites were working; every day he felt better, could think more clearly, was in less pain, but at this point, he was getting impatient. He tapped his arc reactor, his metal fingertips making a delicate clink on the glass of the reactor.

“Hurry up in there, I have things to do,” Tony said to the nanites, and Bruce shushed him, swatting his hand away.

“They’re working hard, leave them alone,” he said, kissing the reactor casing. “Don’t listen to him, you’re doing fine.”

Tony laughed again, turning in bed so that he and Bruce could curl into each other, that blue glow seemingly brighter than the late morning sun. Tony brushed a thumb over Bruce’s cheekbone, and they were quiet, just savoring each moment that they were together, each moment that they almost lost.

“I love you, Tony,” Bruce finally whispered, leaning in to kiss Tony. Tony closed his eyes, breathing him in, treasuring each warm touch.

“I love you too, Bruce.”

They really had won.

#Endgame spoilers #A:E #Science Boyfriends #Science Bros #Stanner #my fic #daftpunkdelorean replies #prompt me if you want a ficlet!

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scifrey · 5 years

Text

My Very Spoilery Endgame Review - What I Liked, What Annoyed Me, and Two Questions I Am Left With

I was very satisfied and enjoyed it very much. The theater burst into applause in several instances and it was great to celebrate the end of an era with fellow fans.

Now for the spoilery critiques and praise.

My favorite moments were:

Thor reconciling his self-image and self-worth with his mother

“I’m still worthy.”

Loki escaping and (hopefully) living in at least one timeline - because if Steve went back to “trim the branches” then this means he returned the Tesseract to 1970. Which means the branch where Loki snagged the Tesseract and was not imprisoned on Asgard may have endured*.

Ken Jeong’s cameo.

Stan Lee’s cameo.

Banner coming to terms with who and what he is and living comfortably with the Hulk.

Basically everyone really leaning into the self-love and self-value by the end of the film.

“That is America’s Ass”.

“I could do this all day.” “Yeah, I know.”

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

“Ha! I knew it!”

“I am Iron Man.”

Scott finding Cassie alive.

Wong’s exasperated reply to Strange’s “Is that everyone?”

Nebula’s redemption. This is a princess (as Squidward calls Thanos “sire”) who saves her own damn self.

How the thing that gave the game away to Thanos was actually really clever and well executed; this wasn’t a “heroes are just stupid this one time” (like how Quill screwed the pooch in Infinity War when they had the damn glove). It was something that I genuinely hadn’t thought of, and I assume no one, not even Nebula, would have thought of. It worked. And it worked well.

All the ladies supporting Carol in the final battle - which was awesome but also felt a bit like the moment was added only so the Russos could check it off a “don’t piss off the feminists” list.

How the final battle set it up well for the next phase - I liked how the Glove Relay was from an OG Avenger (Hawkeye) to the new Avengers - Black Panther, Spider-man, and Captain Marvel.

“I love you 3000″.

Falcon!Cap - finally! Yay!

The sound of the armor that started it all being forged as the endcap of the credits.

However.

I wish Bucky and Steve had also had a meaningful moment at the end, like Steve and Sam, something that made it clear that even though Steve was older now, he was no less Bucky’s best pal.

I'm very, very annoyed that they Fridged Natasha. I mean, I get it. Someone had to die. And we all knew Hawkeye was going to go back to his family, so it wouldn’t be him. And I do love how they did the death, how Nat and Clint fought with one another to the be the one to make the sacrifice. And her death would have been especially cheap if Bruce had just Snapped her Back. I get it.

And if there wasn’t a long history of Fridging female character to ensure the male ones have enough Man-Pain to have a character arc and impetus to be a hero, then you know what? This would have been a really moving sacrifice. It would have really worked.

But there is. And in light of that, it’s left me... itchy. Uncomfortable. Because in the context of the film alone it was a great death. But in the context of the history of comic book narratives, it sucked.

Also, what does this mean for the Black Widow movie? Will it actually be a prequel? Will it be Budapest? And if it is Budapest, will they use the same actors, or cast new, younger ones?

I also don't understand the narrative reason why they had to make so many fat jokes around Thor.

I mean, yeah, it makes sense he was depressed and stopped taking care of his heath, and self-medicated with booze and food. This was a strong and meaningful narrative and I really liked that he was given the opportunity to mourn, to question his purpose, to become more than just muscles and a hammer in terms of character construction. That he could grieve and struggle, and be filled with crippling regret that kept him indoors and hiding, and filled self-loathing.

As a character choice it made sense. And I liked that he was still a powerful warrior while chubby, and that he didn’t magically become slim again when he suited up. It was wonderful to see him be no less powerful, dangerous, dedicated, and no less kick ass while sporting a keg instead of a sixpack.

But they leaned awfully hard on that “fat joke” button and by the time Rhodey said “Cheez Whiz?” I was over it. Its got tedious and frankly a bit insulting.

Teasing someone for suffering because he lost literally everyone he loved is not cool. The jokes fell flat, for good reason. They were cruel.

And when the Russos announced that they had included the MCU's first openly gay character I was hoping that it would be a main character, not some rando dude in a talk therapy meeting. I wanted Bucky and Sam to confess feelings, or Bucky to Steve even if Steve couldn’t return them, or Valkyrie to at least have a wife in New Asgard, or something.

But TBH it didn't surprise me that they made it some nameless dude in group support. Like J.K. Rowling, the Russos are happy to queerbait but too cowardly to commit, and they always have been. I’d be annoyed but it’s not worth the energy.

At least when the guy mentioned his boyfriend it was a “no big deal” mention, and nobody made a “are you cool with this, Cap?” thing to really point out that ooooo, this dude is queer.

But those are my only gripes. The rest of it was thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying.

Especially all the little call backs. The "I am Iron Man" and “I could do this all day” stuff - it felt like little gifts to the fandom.

However, I have two questions.

1) When people were Snapped Back, were they Snapped to their previous exact geographical location? Because if so, what about people who had been in transit? Did people who were Snapped Away while in a plane just... appear mid-sky and plummet to their deaths? Were people on spaceships Snapped Back into the void of cold space? We saw in Infinity War that helicopters crashed into city streets - the pilot, that means, was Snapped Away. When that pilot came back, where did he come back? Did Bruce think to Snap them all into safe places? (I mean, I assume the Stones accounted for Spacial Drift and the location of planets in orbit... maybe it accounted for people who would have Snapped Back into deadly situations?)

2) I do love that Steve and Peggy got their life together At that point Pegs would have been like... at least 10 years older than Steve? Maybe 15? What would her neighbors think of Sugar Momma Peggy Carter and her Very Much Younger (Looking) Husband?

Did she introduce him to anyone? Did they have neighborhood BBQs? At that point everyone would have known who Captain America/Steve Rogers was so did no one recognize him? What did they say? (Did we get Beardy Steve back???) They had kids, canonically, so was Steve able to attend their T-BAll games and school plays?

One assumes that Sugar Baby Steve would have been the House Husband, because Pegs was running Shield and Steve was out of the game. He’d never be able to show his face at SHIELD because Howard would recognize him, and so would Arnim Zola, so HYDRA would have known that Captain America survived and I imagine they would have given anything to get him into the Chair.

It makes me think that Sugar Baby House Husband Steve would have been very isolated and possibly lonely. Maybe he had a few neighbor friends, but can you image how torturous it must have been to live so privately? To know that Bucky was out there suffering and being tortured and brainwashed and that he couldn’t do anything about it? He couldn’t go save his best pal?

That Peggy could never bring him to the SHIELD Christmas party, to visit her new baby godson Anthony, never attend anything with him.

And it makes me think Steve had to vanish from her life right when his earlier self entered it so like... as soon as she started getting sick enough with Alzheimer's he had to leave.

Because that’s when younger Steve came into her life, and started visiting her in the nursing home.

But he had to abandon her when she needed him most, and that is very tragic. How did Steve reconcile that with himself? Especially with returning to a future where she was dead and his friends were alive and he didn’t need to be the Secret Sugar Baby House Husband any more?

All in all, it was very enjoyable and I will watch it again.

And I look forward to the FanFic.

* This means that Loki in that branch also likely did not participate in the battle against the Dark Elves. His character growth in that moment was likely delayed, but I believe he ultimately would have processed his extreme confusion, self-loathing, and hatred of his betrayal by his “family” Thor enough to join forces with him against the destruction of the universe when it mattered. Perhaps having the extra time to do so might have even served him better. I don’t know if this means Odin chose to die and Hela was released, thus triggering the destruction of Asgard. I don’t know what this would have meant for Ragnarock - possibly with Odin as the King when he died the defenses would have been better (though I argue the culture and peace of Asgard thrived under Loki, especially with his dismantling of the Empire and the valuing of the Arts) and they would have saved Asgard or at least not lost so many.

And if Asgard had not survived, perhaps in this version something different may have happened, and Loki wouldn’t on the survivor ship. Perhaps he was on a different ship. Perhaps he wasn’t present for the battle at all and in a completely different part of the universe.

If he was elsewhere this means

a) The Asgardian survivors would have lived because Thanos wouldn’t have targeted the ship, and Thor would have been less self-loathing.

b) When Thanos found Loki with the Tesseract in this branch, it’s likely Loki was able to ingratiate himself to Thanos and gave the Stone to him without Thor there to tip his hand toward an immediate betrayal murder attempt. I subscribe to the theory that Loki was just as mind-controlled during The Avengers and the Battle of New York as Barton (though I wouldn’t call Loki totally innocent in everything) and that he had been suffering from extreme mental health issues following his unsuccessful attempted suicide. In this case, he would be willing to play the long game to get his revenge on his abuser Thanos. Then, later, hopefully, he joins Thor’s side to save the universe against Thanos (as he did against the Dark Elves)- betraying Thanos and perhaps stopping the Snap before it happened in that timeline. Or if not stopping the Snap, perhaps being a part of the new Avengers if he survived it, or joining in the final battle if he was Snapped Away.

Anyway - I have lots of Loki Thoughts. Feel free to adopt any Plot Bunnies this may have generated in reading this.

#Avengers: Endgame #Review #spoilters #Endgame #Avengers #Storytelling #Loki #Endgame Loki #head cannon #theories #loki theory

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amysgiantbees · 5 years

Text

Avengers: Endgame Spoilers

Much like Avengers Infinity War, my feelings on this film can most succinctly be put that overall I found it average to infuriating but there were some truly wonderful parts in between that I’ll always enjoy. I’ll come to this later but here are some notes on my feelings on Avengers Endgame...

THE GOOD

Wanda and Captain Marvel (but I still needed more of them)

Wanda and Captain Marvel fighting Thanos

Steve wielding Mjölnir

Valkyrie on a pegasus

King Valkyrie

Carol’s haircut

Rhodney and Nebula bonding!

Nebula and Tony playing paper football!

Pepper fighting in an iron suit

Sam is Captain America! (He better be Cap in the films, not just this new show, I know the MCU has a history of keeping the TV shows and films separate but please not in this case!)

THE BAD

Bruce dabs. I just can’t.

Clint’s hair and tattoos

Thanos’ ecofascism being justified by the narrative in certain ways like with Cap’s look on the bright side about the environment line.

The time travel plotholes. I do not understand time travel at all in this, feel free to explain if you do. Also, Thanos not having knowledge of anyone due to time travel really took a lot of impact out of the climax for me. My biggest issue with the time travel logic in this though is how can Nebula kill her past self?

The limited time given to emotional character arcs is a real issue for me. For a movie that goes on for so long, I felt like more attention would be given to this and less to action. Like having characters that had rivalries with members of Thano’s Children never confronting against them again.

Thor never mentions Loki. He never grieves him. He was meant to actually legitimately be dead in this one so it would have been nice if not only there was more emotion and time spent on the scene with his mother but if he said goodbye to Loki during it too. Or told Freya to check in on Loki for him, make sure to tell him he loves him form him. I know she is destined to die but if they’d come earlier in the day and let there be time to do all of this it would have been more emotionally satisfying I think at least.

I HATE fatsuits. The fat jokes and the jokes at the expense of Thor’s panic attacks and mental health are REVOLTING. It’s just sad and frustrating that they decided to throw out all of Thor’s character development from Ragnorok for a few cheap laughs. His fat suit doesn’t even look real. It doesn’t match his neck and face and he doesn’t move right. Shockingly enough you move easier when it’s your own skin. This article and the author sum up my thoughts on all of this really well: https://medium.com/@kivabay/the-centr-of-controversy-cba6f23c692e. Also, Bay has a really great quote unrelated to Thor but also sums up another issue I have with the film and I just want to highlight it here, “ I also couldn’t help but view the movie with the knowledge we pick up on the internet about who is leaving the MCU, making the character deaths feel melodramatically goofy and like executive-level calculations.“

Also, somewhat silly critique but doesn’t Thor need special Asgardian beer to get drunk not “mortal” beer in a can. Damn, Thor was just poorly thought through. And I could almost find him fighting against Thanos with zero weight loss aspiring if the whole idea of Chris Hemsworth portraying him and every other way he was handled wasn’t disgustingly terrible. Fat Thor as an idea is amazing. I’d love to see him portrayed as such in the comics as long as he’s treated with respect.

They can’t just have the film be cathartically separate and contained they have to hint at more film’s with the “Where’s Gamora” mystery ready to go and Thor joining the Guardians. They have been advertising Homecoming for months and have the next few years of movies already planned, people aren’t under any illusions that there won’t be sequels. Just let it be self-contained. Especially since it’s already so long.

Just personal taste thing here but the “Avengers Assemble” bit was too cheesy and the ruin of the Avengers mansion was a boring background for the battle.

Dr. Strange was wasted stopping that tsunami. Did they need that? It was such a boring use for him in the battle. This battle had so many heroes but it felt like it really used their powers significantly less creatively together than any other battle previously.

Why weren't Fury, Carol and Maria all standing together at Tony’s funeral with their arms around each other like everyone else? It was really strange and took some of the emotion out of the scene, they’re close to each other. It could have been such a beautiful moment and tied the whole Captain Marvel “Where’s Fury?” scene together if they had them beside each other with her smiling sadly at him or leaning against him. They’re friends and it would be nice to see Fury further fleshed out and more three dimensional.

I don’t mind that Loki is dead but it does make me retroactively annoyed that “You... will never be... a god” was seriously his last line. He had nothing nice to say to his brother before he dies? So he really did die trying to use a knife on someone who can take on the Hulk. I hope that at least in his show that’s coming soon he’s genderqueer and given the opportunity to properly show off his magic. I feel like his magic has never been displayed properly or used in particularly interesting ways so far.

I would have rewritten the scene where Banner and Rocket look for Thor. Banner, Thor and Valkyrie’s interactions are stale and strange. It would have been better (so as not to erase all of his character development) if he was still dealing with his PTSD or the loss of his people poorly but was at least trying to help the Asgardians. But then show Valkyrie having to help him and being the clearly stronger leader due to being able to deal with this grief better after having experience working through grief from losing her Valkyries. She could also be helping him with his alcoholism instead of judging him since she has been there! It would have shown her mentor abilities and kingly traits. You could still have him join the Guardians in the end but now he’s just less negligent. Then he isn’t passing a burden for convenience but because he recognizes Valkyrie was there for his people when he couldn’t be and is the better, more loved leader. Instead of what should be a great moment for Valkyrie that she’s shown as earnt and is deserving of it just seems like Thor was like “Well it turns out ruling was too hard for me I’m going to f*ck off to space now look after them for me.” Still, love that she gets to be king.

Did I mishear her name or is Clint’s daughter not called Kate? Why aren’t we getting Kate Bishop? I know she isn’t Clint’s daughter in the comics but they’ve changed people’s backstories before and after seeing Clint training with a young girl in the trailer I was just really excited for her. I love her character in the comics, but maybe she has a name change here?

Also, why does Clint go overseas to fight people? I’m sure there are more than enough bad people in America for him to fight for YEARS. There are Neo-Nazis for F*CKS SAKE. It just seems racist to imply he’d have to look in places predominantly occupied by POC to find bad people. Also, that Sword scene was strange. It felt really unnatural and fake like it belonged in a completely different movie.

Also, little nitpick but I just found it to be a weird moment when that kid Ant-Man talks to didn’t say “What do you mean?” or “How do you not know?” I get not wanting to talk about the snap but how could he not be mildly curious or confused as to how someone seems to be ignorant to the biggest tragedy in world history.

Also, I really would have loved if the final battle had more consequences. More deaths and injuries. I think it would have been more realistic and added more to it. I especially really would have loved it if they had shown Clint getting injured in such a way that his hearing was permanently damaged. It would be nice to finally have him have that important comic book trait.

Also, that scene where Joe Russo, a straight man, plays a gay man is bullshit. Let us have gay superheroes. That is such a pathetic attempt at representation. Make Loki Genderfluid, make Carol a wLw, Give Okoye and Valkyrie a girlfriend or acknowledge they’re wLw.

Furthermore, I understand that the shot of all the women at the final battle was probably foreshadowing A-Team but I don’t think the creators realised that, One: it makes it look like they’re trying to hide that they killed the only original female member of the Avengers while giving all the men satisfying endings. Two: that there are A LOT fewer women than men but also that there’s enough of them that more of them really should have been featured before then and had more time spent on them. Just so many women yet so few films focussed on them. Furthermore, for those people who don’t know about A-Team it also just feels like a moment of pandering.

Look, Black Widow has never been one of my favorite characters but she deserved better. As soon as she was proclaimed infertile in Age of Ultron it was a death sentence because what use is a woman who can’t reproduce. She didn’t even get a funeral. Clint should have died. The snap forced Natasha to fully commit to her found family and lead the Avengers for years. The snap sent Clint into a debatably racist murder rampage. Natasha did something good after the snap it gave her more purpose. Clint’s purpose was to bring his family back and he could still do that by sacrificing himself. It’s honestly far more satisfying to see Natasha get her happy ending than Clint because Clint’s ending is just far too similar to his story in Age of Ultron. It is just hilariously underwhelming when everyone else has an emotional ending just to have Clint’s be a regurgitated version of him retiring with his family in Ultron. Also, Natasha dying for guilt over some vague bad that’s she’s done in her past that we know nothing about is so unsatisfying. This video I feel also sums up a lot of my feelings on this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A81p1N2gnNY&t=649s. Also from a monetary standpoint, not that Disney needs more money, but there’s way more demand for Black Widow films than Hawkeye. Just why Hawkeye, no one gives a sh*t.

More so I’m not against Tony using the gauntlet but I think it got in the way of Nebula having a fully satisfying conclusion to her arc. At least one woman should have had a satisfying, fully realised arc. It would have been great if Nebula got to finally kill Thanos but honestly, I wouldn’t be as mad at it if she hadn’t got wrongfully blamed for doing it by Thanos or had her arc conclude in an otherwise satisfying way. She gets abused further by Thanos for something she never did and never gets an opportunity to even just face him and confront him about ANYTHING.

Also, Vision is barely mentioned in the film. Which wouldn’t be so frustrating if he wasn’t the reason why an ENTIRE ARMY of predominantly black people was sacrificed in Infinity War. They had to save him because they all apparently cared so much about him but can’t remember to mention him more than once afterward.

I really hate that they were so scared of spoilers that they didn’t let all of the actors read their scripts ahead of time and cut out massive chunks of their scripts and didn’t tell them who they were playing against. I would rather spoilers than poor acting that ruins the timelessness of a film. This is meant to be epic!

#avengers spoilers #avengers #avengers endgame #my analysis #myanalysis #anti endgame #endgame #marvel #marvel endgame #endgame spoilers

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inawickedlittletown · 6 years

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Infinity War...just some thoughts

This is really all over the place and full of spoilers but it’s my immediate reaction.

I really enjoyed the movie. I’ll say that first. It hit everything right and it just seemed to tie things up in a way that really worked. That said, it was painful and hard and things just happened and kept happening and there was not one moment where things weren’t going on or happening and that’s in part due to how the movie really takes care of a huge cast of characters and manages to really make every single character have an amazing moment.

I knew going in that Loki was going to die. There was just something about Loki giving up the stone to Thanos that really said to me that he would die right after irregardless of his reasons for giving it up and it was a deeply emotional moment for me mostly because of Thor and the connection that these two finally got to have and Loki saying “Odinson” really did bring me over the edge and I could feel it coming.

I will say though that it left me wondering about Valkyrie. Where is she? Are we supposed to assume that Thanos only killed half of the Asgardians? So in that case in Valkyrie and Korg somehow safe? Assuming they didn’t turn to ash if they did survive. I hope that’s the case.

The movie does begin in a great place.

Moving on to Tony. Going in I really had low expectations of Tony making it out of this movie. I really did expect him to die and in that moment when he got stabbed I was prepared for his death so I’m really glad that it didn’t happen -- I think that it was such an expected thing that they couldn’t do it and I’m honestly impressed by how that was handled. All the Tony scenes were really just perfect. From him meeting Dr. Strange and the dynamic they have. Bruce and Tony reuniting and the broken up band joke was perfection.

Everything Peter and Tony was more than I could have expected. I just love how much preparation Tony had in mind. From the Iron Spider suit to his nanonites to just how he tried to send Peter back and then actually took Peter’s plans into action and took him into account and just Dr. Strange asking if Peter is his ward...they really played into the relationship well. And then that scene where Peter just falls into Tony’s arms. I don’t even want to think about it too much because I swear I’ll start crying again but goodness. I never thought the line “I don’t want to go” would hurt as much as it did the first time I heard it from the tenth doctor in Doctor Who but yup Marvel found a way to make that ten times more painful.

On another note Tony really did hold his own against Thanos and I really appreciated that they came very close to taking the gauntlet. Also the moment when Thanos tells Tony he knows him and also compares himself to Tony because they’re both weighed by knowledge was brilliant.

I really didn’t expect for there to be so little of Steve, but the moments he does get are fantastic. The fact that he still considers the compound home and just his arrival in time to save Vision was perfectly dramatic. Seeing him at the compound and the little face-off with Ross was fantastic - but also explaining away Clint and Scott not being around because they got some sort of deal really makes me curious to see what they’ve been up to.

I did enjoy seeing Steve meeting up with Bucky again and that hug! I also loved the moment when Bucky receives his new arm and he just knows that there’s a reason he’s going to need it. Bucky was another character that didn’t get a lot of screen time although one good moment was Rocket Raccoon sort of eyeing up his arm which is everything I wanted about those two meeting.

One thing that Steve did do is look amazing in this movie. His hair! The beard! Thor’s comment about the beard! I just really appreciated how well he looked.

So much happened I don’t even know what else to talk about but I guess Thor should be next. The moment when he arrived in Wakanda was freaking amazing. I was so surprised he managed that, but also that he just showed up and kicked some ass. Ugh. Thor has just lost so much and he’s still just so willing to do anything and I really did not expect him to appear in Wakanda so that was a nice surprise.

But in general Thor’s entire arc in this movie was amazing and perfect and I loved seeing him with Groot and Rocket and how that team up worked. Also him getting an eye.

Gamora was not someone I expected to die. I really didn’t think it would get to that but it made sense. I’m just not sure if I like how it came about. But I loved that we got to see her and Starlord sort of affirm their relationship. I also really don’t know if I would be okay with her somehow being brought back to life even though I’m leaning towards that not happening.

Wanda and Vision was also worked in really well and I actually liked Wanda a lot in this and just the turmoil she goes through and that she does destroy the stone. It made me appreciate her strength a lot more.

I think that T’Challa could have gotten more screen time as well and I have to wonder if we get to see a lot of him and the rest of the heroes that turned to ash in the next movie.

I loved what they did with Bruce and Hulk and having Hulk be so afraid of turning into the Hulk and being beat up again that he just doesn’t come out. Although it makes me wonder about that promo they did with Hulk in it in Wakanda.

Doctor Strange really interested me from his interactions with Tony to how much he knows about the single way that they can win and how he seems to give up the stone to keep Tony alive perhaps because he knows that Tony has to be alive for them to win. I guess he also had to know that he was going to turn to ash when Thanos snapped his fingers.

I really am interested in how they will continue from here with so many characters turned to ash and with Clint and Scott probably making it into the movie with some help/solutions. I love that Nebula and Tony will have to work together and am looking forward to seeing what that looks like. I just really am curious about the characters that turned to ash and their possible involvement or non-involvement going forward until they’re brought back.

I did think we’d have a Cap/Tony reunion at least towards the end of the movie but I’m not surprised it didn’t happen. But I really like that Steve seems to view Tony very highly and that Tony just still isn’t talking to Steve or interested in talking to Steve. It will just make whatever reunion happens in the next movie just that much better.

There’s probably a million other things I haven’t touched on but all I can say is that I really did love experiencing this movie and going into it knowing as little as I could and the next year cannot go fast enough so we can have the next one already.

#infinity war #infinity war spoilers #spoilers #avengers: infinity war

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krusca · 7 years

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A Concept:

mcu tony & comics clark kent (aka, the smol squishy human with one of the most powerful superheros of all time)

(as transcribed and revised from my twitter thread. because i need more people to fall into this rairpair hell with me. handwaves the different universe and for the sake of this concept they’re single)

Clark Kent is deeply amused but also very impressed by this small human with a bad heart who sticks himself into a tin can and flies around at mach 5 speeds and keeps challenging him in unspoken races when flying despite knowing he’ll lose every time.

Lets be real, mcu Tony is not a strong young healthy supersoldier or even someone who had the rigorous training lifstyle. He’s got tonys of health problems such as the injured heart, reduced lung capacity, liver problems from drinking, constant stress on his body from flying around in aforementioned tin can. And Tony’s mental state isnt that great either

But that doesn’t stop Tony one bit, and Clark sees everything he loves about humanity in Tony- brave, resilient, generous, stubborn, a bit annoying, and so so heroic.

Clark can literally see tony’s weak heart, the lung capacity, the fake sternum (or arc reactor depends on what you prefer) the negative effects of constant G force on a body, and despite the armor’s protections the metal can’t absorb all the shock and sometimes does more damage than most people would think. His first instinct is to wrap him in blankets and keep him safe.....but he knows a man like Tony Stark would hate the coddling.

Still that doesn't stop Clark from feeling protective, he winces every time Tony takes a hit because he can hear the joints and bones creaking and fracturing.

Meanwhile Tony has mixed feelings towards Superman. From a scientific standpoint, he’s fascinating, even moreso than Thor, stronger than Hulk, but he’s also scared of him, because Clark is someone who can see all of Tony’s weakness and imperfections (the physical ones at least), and when Clark starts taking a more vested interest in him the self conscious fear increases. He catches Clark’s worried glances, a look he interprets as judgement of being not good enough. He builds lead plating into most of his armors, he tries to avoid Clark as much as he can (especially one on one interactions. It doesn’t matter Clark says he doesn’t use his powers unless it’s necessary, Tony feels like Clark’s listening to his heart racing, the tightness in his shoulders, the fear of being seen as a fake a fraud)

Clark thinks Tony’s afraid of him and his powers, it stings a little but its much like Batman, the scientific and genius would have reason to fear him so he’s super gentle around Tony. Tony hates that even more, being treated with kiddie gloves, so he avoids Clark even more. Clark’s confused, wonders if its jealousy, in certain ways he reminds him of Bruce Wayne but this is a whole new level if it is jealousy (and that doesn't quite add up, Tony may talk about his ego but end of day Tony’s not jealous, he’s curious- he marvels in new delights and bigger better shinier things. Clark has no idea its Tony’s crippling self esteem thats the issue)

One day Clark sees Tony doing some extreme remodeling of the workshop & he offers his help. Tony tries waving him away but a section of the wall nearly falls on Tony much to Clarks distress and Tony concedes Clark could be useful with the super speed strength flight and how to handle a hammer being a farmboy and all.

Clark’s never been in Tony’s workshop before, only seem glimpses. Seeing the holograms the half build machines, its all very impressive, different from kryptonian and other alien tech but still brilliant and intriguing like the scifi movies he used to enjoy as a kid. Tony’s cautious and guarded at first, but his workshop is his safe space and his domain so he lets loose bit by bit. Plus Clark is very helpful and replastering the walls in a fraction of a time it wouldve normally taken him.

After tony’s done with all the security upgrades, he’s absorbed in his many projects again and barely notices Clark’s presence at this point. He’s flicking thru 3D holomodels making notes, and Clark doesn’t use his powers on his friends but hey he’s curious and takes a peek at the genius’s brain and he’s instantly blinded and captivated, its like looking at a thousand suns, every neuron firing at top speeds in multiple directions, processing several threads of thoughts at once (and I’m borrowing this aspect from 616 tony) yes Tony’s a genius but he’s also invaluable precisely because no one can multitask at such a high capacity level of genius at once. Clark’ has to look away because Tony’s mind is so bright and burns so hard he’s literally seeing stars in his eyes.

Tony sees him rubbing his eyes and Clark tells him its just dust and Tony’s skeptical can Superman even be affected by little things like dust. Tony hesitantly offers him dinner since Clark was so helpful and Tony’s not a bad host. Clark says yes quickly and really hopes he didn’t sound too overeager, he really wants to get to know Tony better. He always knew Tony was a genius but was always so overtaken by how small Tony was especially compared to the younger healthier heroes. Even Batman’s a genius but in a different way, he’s analytical whereas Tony’s genius is something else entirely, the kind of genius that can create elements, destroy and rebuild worlds, create life but a whole new kind.

Clark realizes how wrong he was, Tony isn’t weak at all, Tony’s mind is his true power and it’s something powerful, fearful, wonderful, breathtaking (clark wonders what it’d be like to have that kind of focus directed at him and gets a bit hot under the collar)

They talk about various things over dinner, and Clark keeps peeking at Tony’s brain, its rude and kind of(?) a violation of privacy but it’s so pretty and Tony’s expressing everything that he’s seeing so yea he keeps looking. They get into topics of parents and he doesn’t need any superpowers to see how tony shutters up, his bright galaxy of a mind dimming at the bad topic. Clark apologizes, Tony brushes it off and moves to another topic, but Clark can see how his mind isn't as vibrant as it was before and it kills him a little, he wants Tony to be joyful and happy not..this. He cleans up dinner, thanks Tony, goes home happy to see Tony’s warmed up to him a lot.

Only after does Clark get home does he realize he may have a bit of a crush on Tony and stares at the ceiling all night. Tony thinks about Clark that night too, while working on Avengers upgrades. Clark’s polite, kind, sassy under that goody two shoes exterior, and a very attentive listener (a little bit too attentive? Clark looked a bit like a man in a desert staring at an oasis) Tony likes attention but that kind of naked adoration directed for hours from several hundred pounds of pure muscle and goodness is a bit overwhelming. He’s cut from the same cloth of Mr. Perfect like Steve but minus the sanctimonious aspect or the weird family ties with his dad so Clarks taken off Tony’s shit list.

Clark hovers again when Tony’s Iron Man, but holds himself back and lets Tony handle things. He sees how tony reacts badly when he tries to step in and help, Tony goes on building sprees and overworks himself, all an effort to show he’s valuable and not a liability while giving Clark the cold shoulder. Clark wonders if it really is just ego but despite appearances Tony’s not that shallow.

One December night Tony gets wasted in his lab and Clark can’t stay away, Tony’s BAC is dangerously high. Tony doesn’t take his presence well, shouts at him to leave, hurls insults and bottles, but Clark just walks forward slowly, approaching Tony like you would a spooked animal, until he’s close enough and asks Tony if he’d like a hug.

Tony’s stunned into silence at this offer, and he slowly leans forward into Clark’s chest. Clark can hear his heartbeat light and fast like a bird, as tony slowly falls apart in Clark’s arms. He’s drunk off his ass and telling Clark everything, his parents death anniversary, his dad who never loved him his mom who he loved so much, and Obie. Clark only happens to hear all of this because of his super hearing. Tony mostly mumbles and slurs his way through and he talks about his pathological fear of failure, not being good enough, and only being good for his usefulness otherwise he may as well be dead.

Clark can’t believe the kind of self loathing tony was hiding, the fact his dad instilled that kind of though into his brilliant son, the loss and betrayal Tony’s faced, he’s Superman and he can’t do a damn thing, cept hold Tony, doesn’t want to say much in fear of saying the wrong thing. He carries Tony to his bed and tucks him in on his side, fetches painkillers and water for when tony wakes. He should leave but he can’t he sits at the edge of the bed and stares at the face of a man drowning in something dark and unseeable, but getting up anyways and changing the world every single day. He’s gone before Tony’s awake, calls his Ma because he doesn’t know how to handle this, tells her about his “friend” (she exposes his big fat crush for him within a minute into the conversation), she gives him advice, and Clark flies back to the tower with groceries.

Tonys awake by the time he crawls out of bed, Clarks in the kitchen cooking breakfast (closer to lunch really) and Tony autopilot drinks the coffee and eats the food laid out in front of him until he semi-realizes what happened last night. things get awkward and Tony’s humiliated and embarrassed and Clark’s a big flustered baby who doesn’t know how to handle this situation either, so Tony pulls a retreat, gets out of his chair, thanks Clark for breakfast and walks out.

Clark is lost, he doesn’t want to lose the closeness he gained but it’s not like they can pretend it never happened. End of the day though he wants Tony to be happy and it doesn’t matter if Clarks part of the equation or not so he wants to let Tony choose.

Meanwhile Tony’s in full panic mode, he broke down in front of SUPERMAN the guy who treats him like he’s fragile, there’s no fixing this and Tony goes into burn all bridges mode, throwing himself into work and avoiding Clark at all costs.

Clark didn’t expect the sever all ties outcome (in retrospect its very tony) and it hurts a lot more than expected. He leaves a video message for Tony and flies off to the moon to pine.

Tony doesn’t touch the video for 3 days until curiosity wins over the part of his brain thats screaming to abort and tells JARVIS to pull it up. It’s Clark talking to Tony, telling him (almost) everything, how much he respect his strength, bravery, generosity, how he never met anyone quite like him in all the galaxies and dimensions he’s been to, and he’d like the privilege of being Tony’s friend again, but if Tony doesn’t want him around he’ll respect that too.

Tony laughs because he’s... astonished (”JARVIS was that for real?” “Yes sir, I believe he was quite sincere” “The most powerful man in the world and he sends me a friendship letter via video”) Of course Clark can hear this and he’s a bit miffed but Tony’s laughing and not maliciously either so it’s ok. Tony says out loud “Hey big guy, I know you can hear me wanna come talk?” Clarks off the moon and in Tony’s lab in minutes, and Tony’s chuckling as he pats moondust off him. Tony tells Clark he’s a narcissistic fuckup and most people don’t stick around for long, but feel free to stay as long as he’d like and Clark’s ready to prove him wrong because Tony is just an amazing individual- Clark may protect humanity but Tony leads it to new heights & he’s humbled that he can be by Tony’s side to see that happen.

so yea, tony stark and clark kent.

#superiron #uhh #clarktony #is this the tag #im on this tiny raft and i am dying #also starting to get ideas of tony learning KRYPTONIAN and i am SWEATING #my posts #krublogs

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ifdragonscouldtalk · 7 years

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a thing because of @agenderraskel because they said something I liked and I liked it. Yeah. It’s not exactly what they said but oh well! AlsO AVENGERS ASSEMBLE FOR THE WIN FUCK MCU

His workshop looked different. There was less glass, more lighting. Why did it look different?

“FRIDAY,” he called out anxiously, clutching at the edge of the closest workshop table tightly. “FRIDAY!”

“Yes, sir,” an A.I. responded after a moment of what could be considered hesitation. “Excuse me, sir. I’m not entirely sure how you got in here? I do not recognize your facials. Please explain who you are or I will be forced to take countermeasures against you.” Tony’s breath hitched in his chest. No, no this was some sort of nightmare. It had to be. This couldn’t be happening, he couldn’t lose this as well.

“It’s- I-I’m Tony. It’s Tony. Who- d-did I make you last night? Where’s FRI?”

“What’s the issue, J?” someone shouted as the banged open the doors to the workshop (banged open, they weren’t automatic, what was happening, what was happening). Tony flinched at the loud noise, pressing back into the table behind him, staring wildly at the newcomers. He probably should’ve been drawn, most immediately, to the shorter man standing in front, who looked shockingly like him. Instead, his eyes went to the man standing directly behind him, a hand on his shoulder -- blond, blue-eyed, built like a brick shithouse, with a mouth downturned in disappointment or something similar. A litany of nos filled his brain as he tried to push back into the table farther, fumbling with his repulsor watch and pointing it. His hand was shaking, it wouldn’t stop; he grabbed his wrist with his other hand, trying to hold it steady, swallowing desperately and urging himself to keep his voice from shaking as well.

“W-What the fuck are you doing here?” It came out more like a gasp and he definitely sounded scared, fuck it, he didn’t care, he never wanted to be in the same room with Steve again and he should know why, some friends they were. “Stay the fuck a-away from me.”

“Oh my God,” the dark haired man gasped. “Steve, Steve look what he did! He made a portable repulsor! How much power output can you get out of that? I bet not as much of the suit. Doesn’t it have a hell of a kickback?”

(Beware of read more)

“Tony,” Steve said fondly, squeezing the man’s shoulder. “Calm down, babe. Maybe I should go?” Tony’s hand was still shaking, but he wouldn’t lower the repulsor. It wouldn’t do much to Captain America, he knew that, but it made him feel safer, if only marginally. And then he noticed the rings. They were matching rings, and yeah he knew this was probably an alternate universe but that was... He looked at his other self, his shoulders starting to shake.

“What is he doing to you? I-is he threatening you? I’ll help. What about Bruce and Pepper? Y-You should tell them- Don’t let him hurt you-” The men were wearing identical looks of horror on their faces.

“Jesus, no!” his alternate self cried. “Steve is a sweetheart! Like he’d ever hurt me.” He scoffed.

“... Y-yeah,” Tony breathed shakily. “Like he’d ever hurt us.”

“Tony,” the other Steve said softly, “I clearly have.” He looked torn, sounded broken by the realization. It meant nothing. Tony knew how good he was at acting, at lying. Knew how good both of them were. How did he know his other self wasn’t lying? How did he know it wasn’t abusive? He couldn’t trust Steve, and he definitely couldn’t trust himself. The other Tony was studying him, his face falling.

“What did he do to you?” he asked, with a seriousness that was completely unusual on them. “What did he do?” Tony shook his head, licking his lips and looking between the two.

“What is he doing to you? And how did I get here?”

“He is my husband and tells me how good I am and how hard I’m trying every day and how proud he is of me. And I don’t know how you got here. What did Rogers do to you?” Tony could feel his breathing quickening, trying to force down the memories, the bile.

“He lied,” he hissed out through clenched teeth. “And then he left me in the middle of Russia in a dead suit. He turned everyone against me. I have nothing because of Steve fucking Rogers.” He shuddered, his entire body shaking, his eyes glazed over. “He would’ve killed me. He would’ve killed me and he wouldn’t have r-regretted-” His voice broke. Steve made a strange sound. The other Tony was leaning back into his husband, seeking comfort. A wave of jealousy swept over him like nausea.

“How... How did he kill the suit?”

“He slammed his shield into the arc reactor,” he spat, trying to feel anger instead of panic. “I thought it was coming for my neck.” Steve looked sickly.

“Why didn’t JARVIS call someone?” Tony’s breath escaped him.

“JARVIS is dead. He’s... There was an issue. A guy named Ultron, and-” Oh no. He was going to break down, and he really didn’t want to do that. His other self let out a high keening sound, clutching at Steve.

“JARVIS is gone?” he whispered, looking about a broken up about it as Tony felt.

“I am right here, sir,” the A.I. from before spoke calmly, and Tony jumped, almost firing his repulsor by accident. He quickly lowered his hand.

“Right. Right. I forgot.”

“Tony,” Steve muttered, nuzzling his hair gently, clearly trying to calm him down. “It’s alright.”

“It’s not!” he shouted, and Tony flinched again, backing up. “Look, l-look... That could be me Steve. That is me.”

“It’s not.”

“Steve.”

“I would like to go home now,” Tony interrupted quietly, trying to force down his trembling. “Can we work on that? Where’s Bruce, I’m sure he’ll help.” His other self glared at him so ferociously he was shocked.

“No. You aren’t going back. I won’t let you.”

“I have to. There are people that need me -- Spider-Man, do you know Spidey? He needs me, and I h-have to fix the Accords and get the others back because there’s something coming and-”

“No.”

“The- The kid needs me! He fucking needs me! He almost killed 200 people on a boat the other day and I can’t leave him alone with that!”

“Wait, what?” Steve said, bewildered. Tony waved his hands, frantic.

“It was an accident, there was an arms deal and he was trying to stop it but... He needs me and, and I have to get the Avengers back because Earth is in danger!”

“Listen,” the other Tony said as he walked forward. Tony resisted the urge to back away. “They don’t deserve you. Earth doesn’t need you. You know how many times we’ve saved this stupid planet? If they don’t want you, don’t let them have you.”

“Spidey-... Pep and I are, I think we might be engaged...”

“Do you want to go back?”

“I c-can’t stay here. Peter needs me. You don’t understand. He needs me, he’s only a kid.” The other Tony looked like he was about to say something else, but Steve interrupted, shaking his head.

“Let’s talk about this later. You’ve been shaking since we got here, Tony, let’s go upstairs and get you something okay?”

There was no Bruce. Thor stayed in the tower full-time. Sam used to work for him, apparently. Natasha was absent, as always. Clint wore strange purple sunglasses and was far more cheerful than the Clint Tony knew. The tower itself was warm colors and comfortable furnishings, unlike Tony’s.

Currently he was wrapped up in a blanket that Hulk had basically forced him into, sitting on the couch with the other Tony on one side, babbling in his ear. Clint had forced some famous hot chocolate into his hands, and he drank it just to have something to do (Clint beamed when he said it was delicious). Surprisingly, he actually was feeling better. Steve stayed on the other side of the room, even though the other Tony looked a little upset by it. They were watching the news now, some crap station that seemed to only report on Spider-Man.

And once the adrenaline was gone... he was comfortable. Hearing JARVIS again, listening to the others laugh, and seeing himself, whole, unbroken. He could’ve had this. He did have this, somewhere, apparently.

He needed to go home. He had responsibilities and things he needed to take care of. But it was so nice here. They didn’t hate him. Sam called him Mr. Stark, Clint sometimes called him Boss. Steve said Tony with so much affection it hurt.

He was tired. He was so tired.

He leaned into his other self, unaware of the voices suddenly cutting off, and drifted off to sleep, nightmares, for once, letting him lie.

#ok so i ran out of steam #oh well #talon writes #avengers assemble #aa #tony stark #multiverse #marvel fanfic

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