❄ but the most special are the most lonely ❄

[letmetakeaselfie]

I. ( tony + steve + bruce )

[ tony's face-plate comes up, all but dragging steve over the threshold. he just has to focus on keeping the super soldier awake so they can get to bruce and get patched up. and then everything will be fine - it'll all be fine. nevermind that cap's best friend is now a psycho killer and is totally on the loose and natasha blew up s.h.i.e.l.d. via the interwebs and put a huge target on all of their heads.

at least he's not panicking.

he has no actual way of knowing how injured he personally is under the suit, either. he's in so much shock and so jacked up on adrenaline that anything is possible. he just hopes it isn't beyond the doctor's scope. JARVIS puts in the passcode wirelessly so tony can carry steve through the door, princess-style. ]

Medic? We need a medic... [ the joke dies on his lips, meeting bruce's gaze across the room. god is he a sight for sore eyes. ]

II. ( tony + steve + bruce + pepper )

[ once tony and steve are cleaned up and back in their street clothes, they may as well get ready for the q&a that's coming. there are a lot of things he's still not willing to discuss - peggy and her husband; his father; bucky... but neither of them are going to get a choice. he loves pepper and bruce with all (both) his heart(s) but this is some heavy shit, so instead he just blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind.

it's also the dumbest. ] Widow will be happy you finally got yourself a date, huh, Cap? [ he nudges the other man's shoulder and looks to everyone else, sorry. that's the best he's got. ]

III. ( tony + steve )

[ tony wanders out to the living room, finding steve out on the couch where he'd left him. he knows just by the unsteady rise and fall of his chest that he's not sleeping. how could either of them after that? without saying a word, he slots his slighter frame in next to him, carefully avoiding both of their injuries and pulling out his phone. ]

I wasn't kidding about that like page, you know. [ he shows cap the facebook fan page that allegedly phil set up. it has a much more flattering image than the twitter. also 14 million something likes. ] You have almost as many fans as me.

[ he's not even being cheeky (much), he has over 19 million. ]

IV. ( tony + pepper )

[ pepper's not up yet and tony hasn't slept yet, which really, if it weren't so commonplace by now might be more traumatic. as it is, he eyes her heels at the base of the bed; she had fallen asleep in her clothes. poor pepper, he'd probably exhausted her and worried her sick with all of this. again, par for their course, but still.

before he can talk himself out of it, he sits on a corner of the bed and goes about trying to get his feet into her shoes. she would totally kill him if she woke up right now, but as they'd established that day they went to the park, it was really hard being short. ] What does she have, elf feet...?

[ he asks the open air, wobbling to his feet and immediately falling to the ground. this wasn't his best laid plan by far. he's just going to lay here for a while. this carpet is soft and his entire body is a bruise. ]

Comments

[valuedstrength]

[Steve accepts his cooling coffee with a long suffering sigh. He smiles at the other man even if all that brooding time sure is troubling.] Alright where's that one from?

[He frowns thoughtfully.] Or do I just look pink today?

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ he snorts. ] It's a callback. There was a cartoon in the 90s about two labrats who always plotted to take over the world. The mastermind was called Brain so that's obviously me, and Pinky was his trusty sidekick and he would always ask "What are we gonna do tonight, Brain?"

Then I say, "What we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world." [ tony sips on his coffee with a faintly bemused expression and nudges steve's arm. he's sitting on the other side now so he doesn't have to be as careful. ]

[valuedstrength]

[He can see the way Tony planned that out. He gives the weakest disapproving look ever in response.] I get to be your sidekick in a fake world domination scenario. That's nice.

[He makes a show of bitterly drinking his coffee.] I assume Pepper is a our tough, but fair ruler at the end of it?

[letmetakeaselfie]

They never actually take over the world, Steve. Otherwise the show would end. [ and he doesn't want it to end. ]

[valuedstrength]

Wait. What's the point if they never take it over? Wouldn't that get old a few episodes in? [Says the guy who listened to radio shows that literally had the same two endings across the board.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

It's a cartoon, buddy. Don't overthink it.

[valuedstrength]

Sounds like lazy storytelling. [He is the rudest. Don't mind him.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

Well, in its defense, that is a technique beloved by American children. You should know that as their captain.

[valuedstrength]

[Steve laughs (and winces) briefly before shaking his head.] Clearly I am getting out of touch with my target audience. You'll have to catch me up on that one too.

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ tony screws up his face and pats steve's knee. ] You'll get there, Cap. We've got you on the fast-track.

[valuedstrength]

[Steve smiles. It feels weird to joke about this. Wasn't it just yesterday that everyone and their mom tried to kill them including he's not so dead best friend? He's rolling with the punches here, he supposes.] What do you think? Star Trek first or lab rats with world domination plans?

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ oh gosh. ] As much as I want to give contextual value to Beam me up and Make it so, Number One, I think I'm going to have to go for the cartoon rats one tonight. It fits with our whole animated theme.

[valuedstrength]

We've got a theme now? [He sounds mock impressed by their foresight.] I can work with that. Cartoon rats it is.

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ he pats steve's knee for like the millionth time and gets up again with a groan, moving back over to his phone. ] If you make me get up one more time, there's going to be another pillow-fight.

[ which is kind of laughable being that there are pillows everywhere already. but okay he's pulling up an episode. it's the one where brain dresses up like stalin and sings a song about being the best dictator ever. tony sighs wistfully as he sets the phone back down and does that projector thing again before flopping over the pillows and resting his head on steve's thigh (again). ]

90s kids still had values, look at this. Now the world's gone to crap. You've missed all the best stuff.

[valuedstrength]

Got it. You'll beat me up with pillows if I make you move again. [Tony is probably bruising his knee at this point, but it's not like Steve cares. He just nods like the most put upon adult in the world even as Tony settles on his thigh again.]

Don't I know it. I could have watched all those Disney movies as they came out. [He sighs playfully.] If only they had found me in the nineties.

[Actually no since Tony was still a crazy, drunken jerk at that point. Steve would have had to backhand him like all the time.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ he's thinking along the same lines and grimaces though steve can't see his face. the themesong is starting up now, it's very catchy. ]

Maybe it was for the best. Or maybe it wasn't. I don't really remember 85-95% of that whole decade.

[valuedstrength]

[Oh man it is. Steve smiles at it.] Yeah that would have been a problem. Well that and most of our team wouldn't really being in a position to be part of our team. Marathons are much easier to deal with.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Yeah. [ tony says noncommittally, pointing when pinky says the thing and brain responds with the proper response. see, he didn't make it up. ]

My dad should've found you, not me. But it didn't happen that way, you know? Don't worry, if we found you in the 90s you'd need all those Disney movies to keep from murdering me.

[valuedstrength]

[Steve glances down at him in amusement. Okay, okay he believes you, Tony. The next topic gets him to tilt his head to the side noncommittally. Of course would have preferred to be found by Howard. He would have been in Tony's life from the start and able to knock Howard's head in when he inevitably started crossing the line.

He's okay with this life if only because it's the one he has. They're both alive and relatively safe. That has to be a win. If nothing else, Steve can joke about it.]

I always could have helped Pepper throw shoes at you between movies. To tell you the truth, throwing things at you is kind of fun.

[letmetakeaselfie]

You two are always ganging up on me. I should've known better than to introduce you. [ it's hard to sound disappointed from this angle tbh. the evil scheme is beginning on screen. ]

[valuedstrength]

[Oh evil schemes should not seem this adorable wow.] Too late now. She made me waffles so I don't think she'll ever be able to get rid of me.

[He's like a stray cat only he's not evil.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ tony rubs his cheek against steve's leg and makes a sound that could be an affirmative, or not. who knows, really. ] Leggo my eggo, dude.

[ wow yeah no he forgot how amazing this show was. he identifies with all of this so much. ] I think I'm starting to reconsider my answer. I should totally take over the world.

you are going to make me look up pinky and the brain once i get home, aren't you?

[valuedstrength]

[Steve sighs and talks to him not unlike an exasperated parent.] Tony, you cannot take over the world. [A beat.] ... Even if it would effectively mean Pepper was taking over the world and we'd be all better off for it.

[Wait did he just sell himself on a joke plan?] So yeah. No.

yes we should watch this episode together like tools

[letmetakeaselfie]

Okay, okay, you're right. She's stressed out enough running after me as it is. [ you win just please don't move you make a good pillow ]

And the heels are only part of the equation.

done.

[valuedstrength]

[Steve nods. He's relieved he doesn't have to spell it out or worse threaten to move.] Well we can always get her more comfortable shoes. I'm pretty sure there's nothing we can do about the stress that comes with having me and whoever else is game punching you in the head until you come to your senses.