❄ 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

[letmetakeaselfie]

Maybe it is. [ he grumbles, but he's not upset with steve, even if he's getting wacky with these questions already. tony turns away, but goes on. ] You've googled me, you know I'm just like him out there.

[ but in here was another story, at least. he thought so. and he'd already questioned steve extensively about that to make sure that yes, he had strayed far enough from his father to actually be his own man. will wonders never cease. ]

But this isn't about him. Not really. I mean, sure, maybe I would've been better adjusted if he didn't resent everything I ever did, or like I don't know, even the fact that I existed. [ everything's twisted. he doesn't like the uncertainty of it.

suddenly his head pops back up, eyes scanning steve's face. ] I knew everything I needed to know. I thought I did. It was enough to just - hate him. But shit's too complicated for that now.

[valuedstrength]

It is. [Steve sighs gently. It tears him up inside to think that Howard didn't appreciate one of the unquestionably good things he did; that he might have actually resented Tony on some level. It's not even the fact it's fundamentally wrong for a parent to behave as he did or that Howard got the things Steve wanted so desperately and was careless with them. He's grown to love Tony. It's difficult to accept that someone can't see the things that he does and treasure them equally.]

I want to hate him and Peggy for failing you, letting Zola live, and compromising the ways that they did. When I think about what they went through, that they'll never get a chance to redeem themselves for any of it, I can't. It's just sad at the end of the day. I know they meant well, but...

[He smiles half-heartedly. They screwed it all up.] I guess we got a pretty thorough lesson on how not to handle ourselves in the future.

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ I want to hate him for failing you. he's actually staring, mouth going slack in shock for a second. tony swallows, he knows one thing for sure. ] I don't want you to hate him. Or want to hate him.

[ and he can't say anything bad about peggy. even if she did abandon him and fuck up the zola thing. she's still alive but somehow speaking ill of an old lady with dementia is actually more soulless than speaking ill of the dead. ] But yeah, I guess we did. Talk about an after school special.

[valuedstrength]

[Steve doesn't respond Tony's reaction. There isn't anything to say. Howard and Peggy's actions deeply hurt him. He can't pretend like if they weren't alive and whole that he wouldn't be screaming his head off at them for all of this. It's all moot anyways.

He does nod at the rest of it, looking a little more exhausted and lost than before.] Tell me about it. I wish I had a clue how we're getting out of this one.

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ he leans forward, grabbing steve's thigh and shaking it. he needs to get them both out of this fucking mopey bullshit headspace. ]

I know we're in a goddamn pillow fort but come on. We're not dead yet. Screw them, they fucked up. We didn't. We got this.

And Pepper's gonna be our ace in the hole. [ he lets go and holds up a finger. he sounds confident because if he doesn't believe it they really are dead. ]

[valuedstrength]

[That earns an honest laugh out of Steve. He's still happy he's getting his way on this one.] Good point. She's much smarter than us so this has to work.

[He knocks his foot into Tony again.] Don't insult the pillow fort.

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ the smug attitude from steve gets a sharp look, even if it isn't serious. ] I may be a genius, but next to Pepper Potts we all look like dumbasses.

[ it's the facts of life. ]

I engineered the fort, I'm not insulting it! It's a part of me now. [ he slaps his hand against his chest indicatively. ]

[valuedstrength]

[Unavoidable really. It's a good thing Steve never minded listening to women and accepting them as his superiors in every way possible. You know except Natasha, but only because she plays too many games for his liking.

Steve shakes his head at Tony in mock disbelief.] You are such a dope.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Am not. [ he protests meekly, drawing his legs up again and setting his head on his knee. ] The integrity of this thing is solid. And for a bunch of pillows that's saying something.

[valuedstrength]

[Steve nods agreeably.] Small favors. I was worried we'd have a cave in.

[letmetakeaselfie]

You wouldn't dare. [ tony narrows his eyes. this thing is his baby now. you know until the next project comes along. ]

[valuedstrength]

I would never. That would be mean. [He's smiling. Wow his foot is suspiciously close to one of the pillow walls...]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ all tony can do is watch in horror, readying himself to dive on steve even if he is injured. but that won't prevent what's coming and he knows it, watching it unfold in comic slow-motion. well, it would be comedy for anyone but tony, who is not laughing. not ever!! ]

And Captain America is never mean, right? [ he asks dryly, wishing he could have come up with a better comeback before the inevitable happens. ]

[valuedstrength]

Of course not. [Steve states it like it's obvious. One dramatic beat later though....] But Steve Rogers is kind of a jerk.

[He kicks the most vulnerable pillow near him. Prepare for doom.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ tony squawks indignantly, his face crumpling in dramatic dismay as the pillow disrupts his precise pillow placement and then it's dominoes. one after the other until he's buried and trying to hold back his laughter. ]

I spent forever on that. How could you?

Traitor. [ tony hides his face and subsequent smirk in the nearest pillow ]

[valuedstrength]

[Steve is knocking away the pillow on his face with his good arm, but otherwise staying buried. He's fine living in his pillow tomb and laughing at Tony's dismay forever.]

You look like you're really broken up about it. [He tosses one at Tony's head for good measure. His betrayal wasn't deep enough clearly.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ tony catches the pillow with one hand and looks up ] Don't start this again. You know nothing good lies down this road.

[ yeah he's just going to keep being as over the top as possible. have you met him yet? ]

[valuedstrength]

It really is hollow to win a pillow fight against a tired old man, isn't it? [That's why he's casually tossing another pillow. No, he's never getting up again or being mature. No one can make him.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

Wow. [ this time he flings the pillow back at steve, actually offended instead of fake offended not that anyone could tell the difference at this point. ] I'm upgrading you from 'kind of a jerk' to full-fledged jerk status.

[valuedstrength]

[Steve tries to use his arm to block it with mixed results given he's down to one decently working one. He sighs loudly.] Oh c'mon. If I can't make jokes about my age than what fun can I have? I don't see how that makes me a full-fledged jerk.

[Except for the part where he threw two pillows at his head.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ he deflates instantly, not sure why he was even mad to begin with. he sighs too, but it's weary instead of theatrical, looking among the pillow ruins with an expression of utter defeat. ] If I can't call you names, what fun can I have?

[valuedstrength]

[Steve frowns thoughtfully. He's determined to keep things light for now.] You can bully me into doing things I don't want to do.

[Isn't that fun for him? Steve assumes so.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ tony screws his face up. ] Do I do that a lot?

[valuedstrength]

[Steve waves his hand since shrugging is out of the question.] Kind of yeah. I don't really mind. I'm kind of used to the people in my life telling me what to do all the time.

[Read: it doesn't mean he listens to them.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ oh. tony still looks confused, trying to call up what he tells steve to do. but it's like twitter and not killing himself. he thinks those ones are pretty reasonable. ]

It's not like you listen anyway. [ he still looks a little lost though. ]